Waiting for the Barbarians Movie Storyline. A magistrate, administrator of an isolated frontier settlement on the border of an unnamed empire, looks forward to an easy retirement until the arrival of colonel Joll, whose task it is to report on the activities of the barbarians and on the security situation on the border. Joll conducts a series of ruthless interrogations. The treatment of the barbarians at his hands and the torture of a young barbarian woman combine to lead the magistrate to a crisis of conscience and a quixotic act of rebellion.
Waiting for the Barbarians is a 2019 action drama film directed by Ciro Guerra in his English-language directorial debut. The film is based on the 1980 novel of the same name by J. M. Coetzee. It stars Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, Gana Bayarsaikhan, and Greta Scacchi.
Waiting for the Barbarians had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 6, 2019. Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and released it on August 7, 2020. Despite receiving mixed reviews from film critics, who criticized the film for its execution, the film was positively welcomed from audiences who praised its story, emotional weight, cast performances (especially those of Rylance and Depp), musical score, the tone, action scenes, the screenplay, and the directing.
About the Story
The Magistrate (Mark Rylance) manages an outpost on the desert frontiers of an unnamed European Empire. The state of affairs is pacific and there are only minor misunderstandings. At this point in marches Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp) who immediately requests to be briefed on the state of the affairs on the frontiers because of his ignorance. The Magistrate tries his best but Colonel Joll remains pessimistic, apparent when he apprehends, accuses, and incarcerates an innocent man and his nephew for being sheep rustlers.
Colonel Joll not only disbelieves in their innocence but proceeds to torture them, resulting in the man’s death. The Magistrate confronts Colonel Joll about the torture and death to which Colonel Joll presents the nephew’s (extorted & false) confession to a fantastical notion of a barbarian uprising. Colonel Joll then forces the tortured nephew to take them to his deceased uncle’s tribe where Joll apprehends women and elderly men as “prisoners of war”.
Colonel Joll departs the next day, which prompts the Magistrate to immediately release all the “prisoners of war”. A few months later one of the prisoners of war with two broken ankles (Gana Bayarsaikhan) is seen panhandling in the streets. The Magistrate gives her food & shelter, and attempts to heal her broken ankles. Some of the soldiers mistake this act of kindness for an act of lust and the girl for the Magistrate’s concubine. The Magistrate learns of all the tortures she has gone through, including the death of her father. He asks her to stay at the fort but also shows willingness to return her to her people. The girl chooses the latter.
After a long and arduous journey through the desert the Magistrate approaches the nomads in the mountains and attempts to restore relations with them but the nomads are upset and only agree to temporarily spare the lives of him and his men for his act of kindness towards the girl. The Magistrate returns to find Officer Mandel (Robert Pattinson), a lackey of Colonel Joll, running the fort. Officer Mandel immediately takes the Magistrate into custody, accuses him of treachery, and incarcerates him.
After some time, the Magistrate exits the prison to see more “prisoners of war” being mistreated. He steps in to advocate for their release but is physically abused and tortured. He is then brought in for questioning and accused of consorting with the enemy and for taking concubines from the barbarians. The Magistrate is then publicly shamed while Colonel Joll departs with a force to drive the barbarians into the mountains. The Magistrate is himself now disheveled and dispossessed of everything. While Colonel Joll is out on the expedition the Magistrate is taken care of by one of his female cooks (Greta Scacchi).
One day a horse carrying the corpse of one of the last soldiers in Colonel Joll’s forces returns. Officer Mandel walks away in fear and then announces a “temporary scaling back of forces” and promptly departs the outpost. The native population feels betrayed and abandoned after the soldiers encouraged the fort’s population to pillory and abuse the nomadic prisoners of war. As Officer Mandel and his men depart, the Magistrate returns to his rooms and his office to continue his studies surrounding the history of the local population.
Waiting for the Barbarians (2020)
Directed by: Ciro Guerra
Starring: Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, Gana Bayarsaikhan, Greta Scacchi, Isabella Nefar, David Moorst, David Dencik, Sam Reid. Bill Milner, Harry Melling
Screenplay by: J.M. Coetzee
Production Design by: Domenico Sica, Crispian Sallis
Cinematography by: Chris Menges
Film Editing by: Jacopo Quadri
Costume Design by: Carlo Poggioli
Set Decoration by: Crispian Sallis
Art Direction by: Abdellah Baadil
Music by: Giampiero Ambrosi
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Release Date: September 6, 2019 (Venice), August 7, 2020 (United States)
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