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Waiting for the Barbarians
(Samuel Goldwyn Films)
By Lucas Allen
Based on the highly acclaimed novel by J.M. Coetzee, “Waiting for the Barbarians” is the latest adaptation to reach the big screen after being turned into a stage play and an opera. The author himself also adapted his book into a script trying his best to re-structure his story with a nearly two-hour movie. The movie is directed by Ciro Guerra, who previously directed the Oscar-nominated “Embrace of the Serpent.”
In an unspecified time and location, the Magistrate (Mark Rylance) of a colony must answer to The Empire in a war against the country’s barbarians. Arriving for an inspection, Col. Joll (Johnny Depp) believes two imprisoned men were responsible for the theft of some sheep. Upon discovering the prisoners’ brutal torture in the hands of the Colonel, the Magistrate starts to reevaluate his position in the colony. When Joll and his men leave for battle, the Magistrate takes it upon himself to take care of a young woman (Gana Bayarsaikhan) who survives being tortured but is left blind and broken.
Upon growing his conscience, the Magistrate abandons his post and tries to bring the girl back to her people. Trekking through the treacherous desert, he and his soldiers hope to convince the enemy to make the simple trade. However, once he returns to the colony, he gets arrested for treason and must face trial before being judged by both Joll and the barbaric Officer Mandel (Robert Pattinson).
If you’re expecting anything exciting from this adaptation, then you’ll have to skip this one entirely. While not poorly made, they somehow make it as boring as any late-90s/early-00s Oscar bait. The movie moves at a snail’s pace, which will surely test the patience of any casual viewer who comes across this title. Especially with nice-to-look-at scenery, it’s not enough to entice anyone who gets bored trying to follow the story.
But the fatal flaw this movie suffers the most is in its screenplay. Having the author trying to be more faithful to his book in his script is a big mistake when another writer could’ve taken some liberty and add some exciting action. It relied too much on character dialogue and each scene gets stale and more repetitive as it goes on. When it briefly gets into action, you’ll hardly notice because you’ll already be falling asleep.
Some really good actors try to bring more weight to the material. Rylance does a good job playing the lead character with a quiet, heartfelt tone. Depp doesn’t play his usual weirdness, but he’s still the best part of the film emphasizing his character’s sinister nature. Pattinson only appears in the film’s third act, so he’s only limited to a couple of scenes with not much dialogue. This movie could’ve used more recognizable actors to add much more levity to this downer of a film.
“Waiting for the Barbarians” is one of the many instances where the book is better. Worse, no one seems to be under the impression that in order to turn a book into a movie, you have to make it more entertaining and less boring. At the end of the day, great acting cannot save a bland drama.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: Not Rated
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 2 Stars (Out of Four)
