Waiting for the Barbarians (2019) Reviews & Ratings

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Waiting for the Barbarians reviews

Waiting for the Barbarians holds a 5.9/10 average from 424 TMDB ratings.

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 fo…
— Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots (6/10)

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 r…
— tmdb28039023 (6/10)

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.…
— CinemaSerf (6/10)

At an isolated frontier outpost, a colonial magistrate suffers a crisis of conscience when an army colonel arrives looking to interrogate the locals about an impending uprising, using cruel tactics that horrify the magistrate.

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