Waiting for the Barbarians

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Waiting for the Barbarians

2019

1h 52m

History

Drama

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Popcornmeter

53%

Tomatometer

94 Reviews

59%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A local magistrate reevaluates his loyalty to his nation while holed up at a remote outpost.

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Critics Consensus

Admirable in theory but disappointing in execution, Waiting for the Barbarians struggles to turn strong performances and worthy themes into affecting drama.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

11/22/2020

2/5

There's not much here for even the most ardent fan of overdetermined political fables.

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Clarisse Loughrey

Independent (UK)

09/11/2020

2/5

Its declarations are too easy, its conclusions too neat.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

09/02/2020

3/5

The screenplay is written by J.M. Coetzee, adapting his own 1980 novel with a strikingly free hand but the message left intact - the eternal awful irony of which Them should really fear which Us.

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Ben Flanagan

Vague Visages

02/08/2024

The datedness of the novel’s politics are swallowed by Guerra, who stages scenes with a typical stillness that, filled with croaky theatrical performances, becomes a non-style worthy of bad prestige TV.

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Serena Seghedoni

Loud and Clear Reviews

10/22/2023

4/5

a brutally honest allegory of the war, with an exceptional Mark Rylance as the last kind man in an inhumane colonial empire.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/21/2022

4.5/5

It’ll be too broad and figurative for some, but I loved its willingness to trust the viewer. And the near apocalyptic final shot only adds to the title’s richness.

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Nich W.

@Nichy May 30

Thought provoking with relevance to our current state of affairs

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Beks C

@beks22 Mar 8

Well-written, well-filmed and well-acted.

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frandigar V

@Frandigar 06/04/2025

A cruel and yet poetic fable about war and colonialism.

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Johannes S

@RT64416087 09/21/2024

The underlying idea along with solid performances and great set-design should make up for a great movie. Yet, the pacing is ultra slow and the story doesn't make sense most of the time.

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Rosana B

@RosanaBotafogo 09/03/2023

Johnny Depp pode até ser um macho muito escroto, entretanto é inegável seu talento em fazer personagens caricatos e marcantes, como este por exemplo, Robert Pattinson também está ótimo... O filme Em alguns momentos são doloridos de assistir, apesar da violência não ser mostrada diretamente, e sim apenas os seus efeitos causa grande ojeriza e revolta aos mais sensíveis como eu... Então real quanto triste e revoltante...

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Marc K

@wtexram 08/20/2023

Seems to be another one of those anti-white movies made by extreme leftists.

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Waiting for the Barbarians: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A local magistrate reevaluates his loyalty to his nation while holed up at a remote outpost.

Director: Ciro Guerra
Producer: Monika Bacardi
Production Co: Iervolino Entertainment, Ithaca Pictures
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 7, 2020
Runtime: 1h 52m

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