The plot is concentrated on the border of an unspecified country, which is overseen on behalf of the almighty “Empire” by a loyal official (Mark Rylance). He did not pay attention to the rumor of an impending war with the surrounding barbarians, but he was awakened by apathy by the arrival of Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp). He was ordered to secure the borders and inform about all activities. With heartlessness, he embarks on the violent interrogation of the original inhabitants.
The story of today
The novel by the South African writer John Maxwell Coetzee was first published in 1980. The book has earned several prestigious awards, and in 2005 even became the basis for opera. The author received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature.
The film adaptation was directed by Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra. He described the filming in a statement for the Venice Film Festival: “When we started working on an adaptation of JM Coetzee’s novel, I thought the story was taking place in a distant world and in distant times. As the filming progressed, I began to feel the distant time and place approaching. Now, when finished, it has somehow turned into a story from our time.“
The actors are no longer waiting for fame
The central nameless official was embodied by the British Mark Rylance. Between 1995 and 2005, he was the artistic director of the Globe Theater in London. It was not only in this period that he gained immense recognition for his directing and especially acting performances. He is the holder of three Tony Theater Awards. In 2015, he also celebrated extraordinary success in television and film. In the miniseries Wolf Hall featuring Thomas Cromwell and in Steven Spielberg’s film Bridge of spies Soviet secret agent. He received an Oscar for this role as Best Supporting Actor.
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Another star of the film, Johnny Depp, has an exceptionally rugged acting career, which has earned him the status of a vibrant Hollywood celebrity and critical acclaim. His most famous roles include characters in the films of director Tim Burton (for example, in the films Střihoruký Edward / 1990 / or Sweeney Todd: The Devil’s Barber of Fleet Street / 2007 /) and of course the extravagant pirate Jack Sparrow from the series Pirates of the Caribbean (2003–2017).
The role of officer Mandela is in Waiting for the barbarians took over Robert Pattinson. He became famous as a long-lived vampire in film adaptations of novels Twilight (2008-2012). Since then, he has been looking for challenging roles in independent productions. For example, his films came into Czech distribution The Lost City (2016), Good times (2017) or horror Lighthouse (2019).
Waiting for the barbarians will have its American premiere on August 7, 2020. The Czech launch has not been announced yet.
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