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.
