Waiting for the barbarians (2019) - Directed by Ciro Guerra

 I read the novel, on which this movie is based on, back in 2013. It was also my first outing with the Nobel award winning author J.M. Coetzee (as well as my first "kindle" experience ). One of the things that one notices is the hypothetical/imagined  nature of the geography - the desert, the empire, the nomad. This abstract world is not a problem to the reader - and in turn, the subsequent viewer of the movie.

The  movie is largely faithful to the book, although there are few differences too - the magistrate's relationship with "the girl" from the nomadic tribes ( barbarians ), is less intimate in the movie. The movie ends with the sound of the distant approach of a large number of horses hooves  ( hinting that he barbarians were approaching), whereas in the book, after all the humiliation that the magistrate endues, he attempts to revive what remains of the frontier settlement, with no sign of a "barbaric attack".

In the movie, Mark Rylance comes up with another great performance, and this is the second time he captured my respect for such a performance ( his other was of course his Oscar award winner performance in "The Bridge of Spies" - "Would it help?" ). I guess Johnny Depp too does a good job, for the viewer has no sympathy for his arrogance and cruelty - traits of his character here as Col. Joll.

The other main attraction was the scenes of the Moroccan desert, where this was filmed. The sands, mud brick architecture, with just enough back ground music work in favour for a good viewer experience. However, if the viewer tries to place the movie in a specific place, and time, that thought may engulf her, at the cost of the abstract movie experience. 

While this is Coetzee's first attempt at screenplay, the following quotes makes an impression.

"Isn't that what war is about ? Compelling a choice on someone who would not otherwise make it?" ( Col. Joll to the Magistrate )

"Do you find it easy to take food afterwards? I would imagine one wants to wash one's hands, to... to clean off the blood, but to sit with one's family and friends, eat..." ( Magistrate to officer Mandell )

"However, you seem to have a new ambition. You want to make a name for yourself as the one just man. You are simply a clown. You are dirty. You stink. They can smell you a mile away. You want to get your name into the history books, history. This is the border. This is nowhere. There is no history here. People are not interested in the history of the back of beyond." ( Col. Joll to the Magistrate )

It was a very good movie experience to me, but I must concede that the book running in mind, contributed in no small way,  to come to term with the incidents taking place in abstract environment.

Rating: ****