Review: Waiting for the Barbarians

A Magistrate in a sleepy Bordertown gets a wake-up call when he learns how nomadic prisoners are being treated, and begins to question his loyalty to the empire. 

You may be watching this because of Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson, but it’s Sir Mark Rylance who with have you enthralled in the story. 

Based on the book by the same name, Waiting for the Barbarians follows a Magistrate (Sir Mark Rylance) at an outpost run by the empire. Things at the outpost seem to be calm until Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp) arrives and says he’s concerned about the “barbarian” situation. 

When nomads are brought back to the outpost and imprisoned, his quiet town turns savage. The Magistrate starts to see the brutality happening around him. He decides to take pity on the barbarians. He releases them from prison and helps heal a girl (Gana Bayarsaikhan) who was beaten and tortured by his own people.

While nursing the girl back to health, The Magistrate falls in love with her. Wanting to see her happy, he offers to take her to her family. When he returns from his journey, he’s met by Officer Mandel (Robert Pattinson), who accused him of treasonous behavior. Because of his compassion, he is tortured and becomes a prisoner in the outpost he once called home. 

After months of being broken down and outcasted, The Magistrate confronts Officer Mandel. As tensions between the two rise, an officer killed by barbarians was sent to the outpost on a horse instigating a war. Empire soldiers begin to run for their lives and pillage the outpost, leaving The Magistrate to pick up the pieces.   

Long and slow are two words I would use to describe this film. I won’t lie, this movie is as sleepy as the town it is set in. That being said, the performances were spectacular, and the cinematography was gorgeous. 

I thought this was going to be another weird character Johnny Depp created. Instead, he gave an eerie and fierce performance. He ate up every moment he was on screen, which was not as much as you would think.

Robert Pattinson also showed that once again, he is more than a teen heartthrob. He plays this despicable character so well you forget that it’s him for a minute. 

The real star of the show is Sir Mark Rylance. Once again, he gives an impeccable performance. He makes a lot of gruesome scenes bearable to watch because of the compassion he shows in his character. He also has a way of delivering a subtle line to make it stand out. 

The movie itself is gorgeous. The visuals are so dramatic you’ll be in awe of each scene. But again, the film moves at a snails pace. It’s very long and dragged out. It picks up about an hour in and really sparks interest once The Magistrate rebels against the empire.

There’s a strong and timely message Waiting for the Barbarians carries. And if you can make it through the slow pace, you’ll get superb performances, stunning scenic shots, and an ending that will have you contemplating who the real barbarians are.