Waiting for the Barbarians
Waiting for the Barbarians is a 2019 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.
Plot
The Magistrate manages an outpost on the desert frontiers of an unnamed Empire. His careful management has kept the peace for many years and there are only minor misunderstandings. All that changes with the arrival of Colonel Joll, who is acting as part of a mysterious plan set in motion by the centre of the empire. The Magistrate tries his best, but Colonel Joll remains antagonistic. Colonel Joll insists on interrogating an innocent man and his nephew for sheep rustling. Colonel Joll is determined to follow his process for getting the truth, which requires brutal torture. The Magistrate does not understand Joll, or his methods, or his goals. Colonel Joll then forces the tortured nephew to escort him and a detachment of soldiers to his tribe, where numerous women and elderly men are taken into custody as "prisoners of war".
More details
author | J. M. Coetzee |
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director | Ciro Guerra |
editor | Jacopo Quadri |
genre | drama |
keywords | act broken ankle concubine detach former prisoner help innocent man loot military camp misunderstand mutilate panhandle prisoners of war question rustle sheep rustling treachery |
musicBy | Giampiero Ambrosi |
producer | Andrea Iervolino Michael Fitzgerald Monika Bacardi Olga Segura |
publisher | Samuel Goldwyn Films |