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Waiting for the Barbarians

Waiting for the Barbarians

Drama · History · 2020

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.

Movie details

Waiting for the Barbarians

2020 Drama · History 1h 52m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Waiting for the Barbarians?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ciro Guerra

Written by

Ciro Guerra

Mark Rylance

Mark Rylance

The Magistrate

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp

Colonel Joll

Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson

Officer Mandel

Gana Bayarsaikhan

Gana Bayarsaikhan

The Girl

Greta Scacchi

Greta Scacchi

Mai

David Dencik

David Dencik

The Clerk

Sam Reid

Sam Reid

The Lieutenant

Court is in session

Put Waiting for the Barbarians on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.