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Parents' Guide to

Waiting for the Barbarians

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Uneven but powerful war drama has gory violence.

Movie NR 2020 113 minutes
Waiting for the Barbarians Poster Image

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What's the Story?

In WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS, a magistrate (Mark Rylance) is in charge of a remote outpost on an unnamed border. He receives a visit from Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp), who's determined to ward off a supposed impending attack by the "barbarians." The kindly magistrate politely disagrees, but Joll heads off into the desert in search of people he can imprison and interrogate. Later, the magistrate discovers an abused, homeless woman (Gana Bayarsaikhan) who has been blinded, with both her legs broken. He takes her to his quarters and tries to nurse her back to health. He vows to bring her back to her people, even though he has fallen in love with her. After a perilous trip through the desert and back, the magistrate returns to the outpost, only to find Joll and the vicious Officer Mandel (Robert Pattinson) there -- and to discover that he's been accused of treason.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Uneven and sometimes a little rigid, this adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's 1980 novel eventually finds its footing through several forceful performances, some gorgeous passages, and its relevant themes. Adapted by Nobel Prize winner Coetzee himself (his first screenplay) and directed by Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra (the Oscar-nominated Embrace of the Serpent), Waiting for the Barbarians is told in four chapters, one named for each season. It starts off a little oddly, given that it's set in no particular time or place. Then Colonel Joll arrives wearing strange, otherworldly sunglasses; coupled with the writerly sounding dialogue, it feels as if the movie could almost be science fiction.

Fortunately, the performers find ways to act through the words -- Rylance with his inherent sense of kindness and soft intelligence and Depp amusingly expressing a seething evil, perfectly controlled and inflexible, conveyed through one of the actor's trademark brisk British accents. Bayarsaikhan has a quietly mesmerizing screen presence, and Pattinson lets his steely eyes and jaw project a searing brutality. The dynamic, well-composed outdoor sequences further improve things, even if the last chapter suddenly includes images of violence and horror that some viewers may wish they could unsee. But it's the final image of Waiting for the Barbarians that haunts, leaving off with the realization that we brought this on ourselves.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Waiting for the Barbarians' violence. Does the gore and blood help tell the story? How did it make you feel? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Is the magistrate a role model? Even though his actions led to disaster, does that mean he shouldn't have done them?

  • How does the movie portray the relationship between the magistrate and the girl? Is it sexual? Is there love? Is it about possession? What values are imparted?

  • Why do you think Colonel Joll is so intent on making war with the "barbarians" when leaving them alone is a good option? What draws humans to war?

  • How does the movie compare to the novel?

Movie Details

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