Waiting for the Barbarians

8/31/2020

Adapted by Nobel Prize winning author J.M. Coetzee from his own book, “Waiting for the Barbarians” is a timely screen retelling of the darkest (and most the most cruel) aspects of colonialism. This period film sadly reflects issues many are dealing with in present day: a society that’s relentless in its quest to oppress “the other.” An isolated frontier settlement on the border of an unnamed empire sets the stage for the epic story of a Magistrate (Mark Rylance), a kind soul who lives a routine existence respecting the rule of law, and the disquieting arrival of Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp), a menacing man that quickly turns things upside down. Joll and his minions (including Robert Pattinson as Officer Mandel) have been tasked with reporting the activities of the ‘barbarians’ — and th

8/25/2022

In Waiting for the Barbarians' Colonel Joll, Johnny Depp has crafted a great movie villain. I would describe him as either a colonial Darth Vader or a proto-Nazi – and concerning the latter, the character is a textbook illustration of Hannah Arendt's 'banality of evil;' perfectly circumspect, not a single hair out of place, not a single wasted motion. Depp plays the Colonel inwardly; his eyes invariably covered by round dark glasses, his face an inscrutable waxen death mask, his demeanor cold and calculating – of Captain Jack Sparrow's drunken buffoonery and shameful overacting not the slightest trace remains. Joll is, for better or for worse, the black heart and rotten soul of this film. It is said that a hero is only as good as his villain, and that's where the movie falls short. M

2/26/2023

Despite a strong cast, this is really rather a dirge of a watch. Sir Mark Rylance is the colonial magistrate in a frontier province that inspecting "Col. Joll" (Johnny Depp) believes is about to bear the brunt of an attack from the eponymous enemy. Despite there only appearing to be sheep farmers adjacent to their fortified town, he proceeds to indulge in a little torture before heading off to investigate some more. Meantime, the decently-minded official sets off on a tour of his own which, upon his return, finds him also at the mercy of the rather brutal colonel and his henchman "Mandel" (an underwhelming, as usual, Robert Pattinson). The first half hour or so make for a watchable enough drama, but thereafter it really does run out of steam. Sir Mark's character is noble, but insipid and