Rosewater

Rosewater (2014) is a drama directed by Jon Stewart — watch online on iFILM, starring Gael García Bernal. The film is built around what actually happened to Maziar Bahari, an Iranian-Canadian journalist covering the 2009 presidential election in Tehran for Newsweek. Days after the vote, he was pulled from his family home and locked in a cell at Evin Prison — partly on the strength of a taped comedy segment he'd done for The Daily Show.

One hundred and eighteen days of interrogation followed. His investigator, remembered only by the smell of rosewater, was convinced the satirical interview was proof of espionage. Bahari survived through memory — his father and sister had each spent time in Iranian prisons before him, and their voices kept him oriented. García Bernal carries the film almost entirely in that cell, and he's compelling enough that the confined space never feels like a limitation.

Stewart directed with restraint, which was the right call. This is a portrait of a person staying sane under pressure, not an indictment of a government, and the distinction matters. García Bernal picked up a BAFTA nomination for the performance. Stream Rosewater (2014) on iFILM.