"Waiting for the Barbarians" is a dystopia with Depp and Pattinson, in which the star actors are far from the main thing - Lifehacker

On August 6, the film "Waiting for the Barbarians" was released in Russian cinemas. This is an adaptation of the eponymous novel Nobel laureate from South Africa John Coetzee. The advertising of the film attracts primarily with its historical entourage, the unusual image of Johnny Depp and the next appearance of Robert Pattinson. However, in fact, the famous actors in the film are only on the sidelines. And those who expect from the plot of a historical drama will be completely disappointed. Still, the film by Colombian Ciro Guerra is worth watching.

Eternal universal story

The plot unfolds on the southern border of a certain Empire, where there is a fortified city. The garrison is run by a humble and courteous Magistrate (Mark Rylance). He does his best to avoid conflicts with the local population.

But rumors of a possible invasion of barbarians reached the Empire. The cruel Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp) is sent to understand the situation. He begins to torture the prisoners, knocking them out of false confessions about the upcoming plans, makes sorties and captures new prisoners. Peaceful life collapses, and the Magistrate tries to resist Joll's methods.

IN film adaptationsas in Coetzee's book, there is no exact mention of the time and place of action. The authors rather than create a historical plot, but a dystopia dedicated to eternal themes. And the summer of 2020 seems ideal for a massive release of such a picture.

It is no secret that Coetzee hinted in his history at the colonial policy of Great Britain. The novel itself was created during the apartheid period in South Africa and was first published in 1980. But now, in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement, which swept the United States and the entire West, and more and more frequent talks about the usurpation of power in Eastern Europe, the plot looks almost more important than in the 80s.

The idea of ​​segregation in the film is not presented directly, the barbarians themselves are hardly shown at all. But the power in the person of Joll is fighting with them with all its might, at the same time mocking their own subordinates. The cruel colonel does not even imagine any other method of work other than torture and suppression. And the voice of the Magistrate, who is trying to point out the ambiguity of the situation, sounds too timid: it is difficult for the intelligentsia to argue with forceful methods.

The relevance of this eternal dystopia is even frightening. After all, the film shows a government that invents enemies and itself is at war with them. And by this he sets against himself all those around him, who were ready to put up with some restrictions, but take stones in their hands when faced with usurpers.

Vivid but all too obvious opposites

The main storyline focuses on the life of the Magistrate, who tries to maintain peace and resist violence. In the contrast of Rylance's character with Depp's character, and then with his assistant Mendel (Robert Pattinson), emotional tension is kept.

And here the main drawback of the picture appears. To convey the plot as close as possible to the original, the director invited John Coetzee himself to write the script. But he did not seem to take into account that literary and cinematic techniques work in different ways.

When the heroes are first introduced, they seem very bright and charismatic. The magistrate behaves modestly, speaks quietly and directly states that he does not want to fight even with a bear. Its opposite is Joll. His uniform is always buttoned up, and the villain does not take off his gloves even during dinner.

But if Oscar-winning Mark Rylance is given enough time to reveal his character and even give out several stunningly emotional scenes (for example, with the washing of a captive's broken legs), then Depp only performs a typical function antagonist. He voices all his motives not even with words, but with slogans. It is very difficult to see something alive in him just because in the book the character was revealed through the perception of the Magistrate, and in the film these feelings are lost.

Even if Depp is given too little time to play, then pro Pattinson and needless to say. His hero appears only in the last third of the film and does not manifest himself at all. Mendel was supposed to be something between the opposite characters: he is very cruel, but not yet as stale as Joll, and is capable of emotional actions. However, a couple of scenes with his participation do not allow the character to be revealed. It seems that the bright actor was invited to such a simple role only to attract attention.

The atmosphere instead of the plot

Viewers familiar with the work of Ciro Guerra know in advance that one should not expect dynamics and important plot twists from the film. But the general public who goes to look at Depp and Pattinson can quickly get tired of very long desert plans and slow action.

The author deliberately does not tell any details, many heroes do not even have names. In this story, it is not personalities and actions that are important, but the very atmosphere of what is happening. Therefore, much of the brutality that the military does is not even shown on the screen. The author is more important not scare viewer with blood, and show the consequences of their actions.

In addition to this, the action of the film is also divided into chapters according to the seasons, although nothing visually changes. The seasons rather look like an allegorical reflection of the lives of the heroes: from spring bloom to the darkness of winter.

This sophisticated approach makes viewing a painting a challenge. If the viewer catches the atmosphere that the author wanted to convey, then the tragedy of the protagonist will overwhelm him. If he remains cold and evaluates only the plot, the twists and turns will seem boring, and the ending is almost meaningless.

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The film "Waiting for the Barbarians" has every chance of becoming a victim of too loud acting names. Those who want to see the picture need to understand in advance that they will be shown a complex and even tedious story of a hopeless struggle of a small person with the system. And even being ready for this, you can find fault with the strange treatment of the authors with heroes who clearly deserve more attention.

Yet the very idea of ​​this dystopia is important and, alas, eternal. And it's never superfluous to remind the viewer about it. Even in such a controversial form.