Waiting for the Barbarians

Waiting for the Barbarians is a film directed by Ciro Guerra, and stars Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson. This is a historical drama where Mark Rylance plays the magistrate for this fortress on the frontier of the "Empire". There is no date or location given, and not even a name for the so-called "empire". This is because the main theme deals heavily with imperialism, and the mistreatment that has gone on in almost every example of it. Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson are the "bad" guys checking up on the frontier, and trying to handle the barbarians. Now that we have simple routine out of the way, let me describe how I personally thought this movie was. This film has very important themes, and strong performances, but struggles to really keep your attention. The movie starts off pretty strong, with this rivalry between Johnny Depp (who is brilliant in this by the way), and Mark Rylance. It was highly entertaining to see their ideology duel and it looked like it was going somewhere. However, then we get to the long second act where it basically takes too long at everything. Also, there is no Johnny Depp, or any interesting characters or plot really. Mark Rylance is good, but his character is just wimpy, and not charismatic. He is just utterly weak in almost every sense. He is also kinda creepy with his weird foot fetish scenes (you will know when you see them). It finally picks up in the third half which is carried by Robert Pattinson and Johnny Depp. This isn't because Mark Rylance is bad, but his character on his own is just extremely boring. Everytime Robert or Johnny was on screen, it was very entertaining. I just feel they made Mark's character way more interesting. Besides seldom clunky moments, the acting is pretty good. The actual story is kinda interesting, but I feel we have seen it done in a more entertaining fashion. Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying I wanted more action in this movie, I just felt like more conflict was needed especially in the second act. The themes are very important, and it does a good job of showing it (imperialism is bad). The cinematography was okay, it just didn't have a lot of "wow" moments. The soundtrack also didn't strike me much, but was okay. Honestly, if this film didn't have Johnny or Robert, I don't think I would have liked it nearly as much. In the end it is an okay film, but ultimately suffers from being kinda boring the whole second act. I will say that the Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson performances are worth it in the end. I would recommend renting this movie despite its shortcomings.

This film is about how nasty we can be while hiding behind things like authority, law and other euphemisms for power. A slow burn movie, it stars Mark Rylance - in a yet another great role - as a decent man who has no power to control things, but has to observe others. I will have to say that both Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson did a great job, but their characters barely covered ten minutes of screen taken together. The film is well done, beautifully shot, introspective.

Bottom line: a gem in the mud, a film that was bound to gather low ratings because it is uncomfortable to bear witness to human cruelty, pride and greed. It's a must watch, but be warned that it is not easy to do so.

THE PRO'S: The Barbarians is a beautifully shot meditation on what it means to be civilized on both a national and a personal level. Every frame in this film is gorgeous; from the windswept vistas of the blazing frontier to the bespoke stucco architecture sinking into the sands of time, this film has texture. Mark Rylance turns in a touching performance as a man trying to remain decent in an increasingly cruel situation. And while the central message of "maybe WE'RE the barbarians!!!!" would be usually easy and trite, the movie is careful to depict both sides as falling prey to xenophobia and the us-vs-them mentality. Johhny Depp is also good here: his enigmatic strangeness is reigned in more than usual and he sells the cruelty well. The set design is also worth noting and really succeeds in transporting you to this forgotten outpost from another place and time.

THE CON'S: At several points along its journey, the film can really drag. This was no doubt intentional, but that doesn't save the pacing. There's a little too much self indulgence, a few too many times the camera is allowed to linger. And while that does help this film achieve its melancholy epitaph for the civility and morals of an old world, it also breaks the immersion. The very last shot, which I won't spoil, is also in my opinion a misstep. There is a suspicion built up over the course of the film and bandied about by the characters which this shot sort of obliterates. Perhaps this is true to the source material; this is an adaptation after all. But a little restraint there would go a long way.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Waiting for the Barbarians is a fascinating study of helpless people in helpless situations, civility vs. Brutality, and the decay of the old world in the face of the inevitable winds of change. If you can hunker down for a slower, longer burn that admittedly should have been cleaned up in the editing room, you'll be rewarded. 8 out of 10 stars.

Caught from the first act of the film by the set ,the mood,the music, the customs ,the lighting the performance of Mark Rylance and Johnny depp paving the way for watching a masterpiece..the structure of the characters revealed and their intentions is obvious leading to an inevitable clash between them..then there was the girl which was pivotal showing us another depth of Mark Rylance's character ..feeling guilty for what happened to her people and trying to redeem his guilt by saving her despite knowing what that would lead to ..that's where the film begin to have a lot of holes and unclear parts messed with the continuity of the film messing the script structure and a lot of things was just happening without explanation which made me couldn't fully immersed emotionally with some events despite how heavily strong they were ..loved the pace ,the acting performance the angles the natural light and cinematic look and mood ,the characters complications ..but the misconnections made it a lost masterpiece.

JM Coetzee is the author of the original book, and is rightly lauded for his story telling ability as much as his literary ability. However, his works haven't easily transferred to screen, which is not uncommon for high-end literary works. This one to me is borderline.

What we have is a tale set in the 19th century of a humble wise magistrate of a garrision on the frontiers of an unnamed European Empire (seems like an area bordering around the former Soviet Union states). His stoic nature though is confronted by the entry of a colonel and his forces, who seem hell-bent to start battle with locals who are NOT looking for aggression. The Colonel is everything our magistrate is not, and the whole matter is complicated by the magistrates falling in love with a local lady he helps to return to her people.

Surprisingly this film hasn't been warmly received by the critics which is surprising, as it is actually very good. The main hold is the sublime performance by Mark Rylance in the lead, who can't have been any better than what he has done with the role. You empathise with him, and see his destruction at the hands of his colleagues (which clearly shows that the true Barbarians are at his side and not beyond the walls).

Johnny Depp was fine but seemed out of place, whilst Robert Pattison gets better with every film he stars in. The setting is perfect and beautiful, and the film has a fine slow pace. Admittedly it could have helped to flesh out some other characters more than just the magistrate to give them more weight, especially the mysterious colonel.

I don't get what it is that the critics were downgrading here? It's a fine existential story, and one that some will enjoy revisiting. Fair enough, the subject matter and a number of scenes are uncomfortable to watch, but that's the point! It's not about a rose-tinted look at the colonial past. It's also not 'Zulu' (which admittedly I very much love).

It's a tough watch at times, but very worth a viewing. Mark Rylance will little do better anywhere else ever again. He at least is a major reason to watch this one.