WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS--Updates, Reviews and Discussion

[Ruby Begonia]

Deadline link: Waiting for the Barbarians to screen in competition in the Venice Film Festival (Aug 28-Sep 7)


The King with Lily-Rose Depp is also screening. Maybe they'll appear together during the festival?!

Some episodes of The New Pope tv series will be shown as well, not as any part of the competition. Jude Law stars in that and Marilyn Manson is in it (don't know which episodes).

[fireflydances]

Wow! That is absolutely thrilling! Keeping my fingers crossed that the film is awarded a prize. Thank you for the information Ruby Begonia!

[gipsyblues]

Ruby Begonia. Good news for Johnny and his fans

[Barboss1205]

Wow! Amazing news! Waiting for a premiere date... I Will be in Venice for the festival

[Barboss1205]

So the date is 6 September! Waiting for Johnny
And The King with Lili-Rose - 2 September. If she will stay until 6, they will be together...

[In-too-Depp]

Rylance, Depp and Pattinson Bring Coetzee to the Big Screen

The Guardian.com
Article by Dalya Alberge
10th August 2019

Film-makers struggled for 20 years to get investors interested in a film adaptation of Waiting for the Barbarians, JM Coetzee’s novel. His complex tale of immigration and integration was not the easiest sell.

But, in today’s unsettled world, the story feels pertinent as never before. Now the film, starring Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson, is receiving its world premiere at this month’s Venice film festival.

All the actors were motivated by a desire to convey the “message” of the film, as well as explore its “artistic component,” said Andrea Iervolino, one of the producers. “Another production company was trying to do this movie for 20 years. Then they proposed the idea … to me and Monika Bacardi, my business partner. We loved [it] right away because this movie, like the book, speaks about integration and immigration in a world of division,” Iervolino told the Observer.

“Now all governments try to push away immigration, so immigrants are not really welcome. But this movie will show how important and beautiful integration and immigration can be … We believe that the message which this movie gives is very important, more important than 10 or 20 years ago.”

The film is the first English-language movie for the film’s Colombian director, Ciro Guerra and the screenplay is by Coetzee. When his novel was published in 1980, critics described it as a “masterwork”, a parable about the use of mythical enemies for social control. In a story set in an imaginary empire populated by barbarian tribes, Rylance plays The Magistrate, “a responsible official”, who begins to question imperialism. Iervolino described by Variety magazine as one of the industry’s most powerful independent producers, is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in major movies, said the actor deserved an Oscar for his performance.

“He plays someone who realises that the government was trying to scare the population by saying that ‘the barbarians are coming, bad people are coming, the invasion is coming’. Actually, the government was only instilling fear.”

Depp portrays a heartless bureaucrat despatched by the Empire’s secret service amid claims that the barbarians are preparing to mutiny.

[justintime]

A few months ago, meeps posted this nice little piece and if anything, the media has tried to downplay JD’s role in this film ever since. Hence, The Guardian’s one-liner ending their most recent update from August 10th (just posted by ItD on August 11th).

Same pic with a bit of text

Just wondering what the protocol is from here on out after the Venice premiere on September 6th: How should we expect the release of this film to work? Will there be a “normal” theatrical release with the usual city by city premieres (i.e. LA, London, etc.) prefacing any streaming and DVD availability? Does distribution depend on how well the film is received in Venice? The film does not yet have a page on the very rotten RT site.

I read this book months ago and have reread portions of it many times since. Mark Rylance is exactly what I pictured the Magistrate to be like - temperament, physically, etc. - perfect choice. I can see Johnny as Colonel Joll and will be interested to see if they flesh him out a bit more but am not expecting it. Doesn’t matter really, just hope we get to see this film in a venue it - and we - deserve(s).

[fireflydances]

justintime, This is an informed guess. This is an independent film and we are unlikely to see a big multi-city release. My hope is that it will have a good debut at the Festival and that will result in a limited release, say to the independent cinema houses.

Ciro Guerra and his movie were invited, selected, to be at the Venice Festival. His own words from an interview I have been reading tonight." (Note: I am translating from Spanish.) "We were selected to be part of the oldest (film) festival in the world, the one with the most tradition, the one that presented the work of the great masters: Kurosawa, Fellini, Bergman, Agnes Varda...and most recently, the films of Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro. It was very surprising because the movie is not ready yet, we are in the final production phase (obviously this comment was made perhaps a month ago) so we didn't know if it was possible to classify, but when we got the news, it was a great honor. It will be part of the main section with filmmakers that one has admired for a lifetime. It is very strange, one day you are studying Roman Polanski's work, and the next day, you are in competition with him." El Tiempo August 19, 2019. Sophia Gomez G.

The film I loved most last year was Cuaron's Roma, and I had to see that film on my laptop because Netflix, who produced it, preferred to stream it inside of put it in theaters. And who knows, perhaps that will be the route for Waiting for the Barbarians. Let's face it, this isn't Ad Asta. But Guerra is an up and coming Colombia director who literally wowed American audiences with Embrace of the Serpent and The Birds of Passage. So, anything is possible.

[justintime]

Thank you so much, fireflydances, for your response - realistic and thoughtful as always - and for the interview translation. I saw Roma on Netflix also, but I did get into NYC’s Angelika to see The Libertine (Ha! I would have trekked to the hinterlands to see Johnny as Wilmot.). That was so long ago. I’ve been hoping Mark Rylance’s performance might push this little gem beyond the confines of a “limited release”. I’ll keep my fingers crossed a bit longer . . .

[In-too-Depp]

[In-too-Depp]

Waiting for the Barbarians will be shown at the London Film Festival, screenings 6-9th October.

[justintime]

Thanks, ItD, for the festival updates as well as the casual, on-set photos.

[Ruby Begonia]

Great news about another festival showing! We don't know yet how faithful the film will be to the book, but can fireflydances or anyone else who's read the book guess at screen time JD's character will have? I don't want to read the book until after I've seen the film, but will love to read the thoughts of the ONBC then.

Waiting for the "Waiting for the Barbarians" trailer like

The unfinished version of the film accepted to compete in Venice must have shown a lot of promise. Someone tweeted that the sound was just completed the other day. Because it seems like they're rushing to finalize the film before the Venice premiere, showing it at the end of the festival (after TIFF has started) isn't an indicator that the film isn't good. I'm excited to see the film!

[nebraska]

Great news about another festival showing! We don't know yet how faithful the film will be to the book, but can fireflydances or anyone else who's read the book guess at screen time JD's character will have? I don't want to read the book until after I've seen the film, but will love to read the thoughts of the ONBC then.

Waiting for the "Waiting for the Barbarians" trailer like

The unfinished version of the film accepted to compete in Venice must have shown a lot of promise. Someone tweeted that the sound was just completed the other day. Because it seems like they're rushing to finalize the film before the Venice premiere, showing it at the end of the festival (after TIFF has started) isn't an indicator that the film isn't good. I'm excited to see the film!

I am curious why you don't want to read the book and take part in ONBC before you see the film (assuming we will actually get to see it some day). Before one of Johnny's movies comes out I read the book and do additional research so I feel "prepared" to enjoy the new movie. For instance, before he played the wolf in Into the Woods I watched several other versions of the play; the same with Sweeney Todd. Before he was in Murder on the Orient Express I read the book as well as viewing the 1974 movie version. And with the Libertine I read a biography or two of Wilmont. It helps me to build the anticipation while I wait. For me, it is part of the process. (I guess I am afraid I will miss too much if I am not primed and ready. Hope I don't sound like too much of a nerd, but it is what I do)

[fireflydances]

To begin with the screenplay of this film is done by Coetzee, the writer. But it is not a line by line lift of the book to the screen. Instead Coetzee has deliberately taken his story and adapted it for filming, because films are more visual and require a different way to present material.

I remember reading that Coetzee's adaptation drops the opening scene from the book which would have had Depp front and center, dominating the screen. Here is the opening:

I have never seen anything like it: two little discs of glass suspended in front of his eyes in loops of wire. Is he blind? I would understand it if he wanted to hide blind eyes. But he is not blind. The discs are dark, they look opaque from the outside, but he can see through them. He tells me they are a new invention. '"They protect one's eyes against the glare of the sun," he says.

We are in the Magistrate's head when the book opens. He is just meeting Colonel Joll and the words above are his 'stream of consciousness' thoughts. You know, those sort of conversations you have in your head. We read the Magistrate's thoughts and see everything that happens through his eyes for the entire book. In a sense, as we read, we are walking next to him. Or he might be whispering in our ear. It's very intimate. That is one of the unique characteristics of books.

But, to present a film this way would require a narrative voice-over. And that would feel flat to audiences watching the film. Instead films require an energy that moves around the characters, that pans across an open landscape. The camera instead of the voice.

I know Coetzee has expanded several scenes. In fact he has ADDED scenes. Unfortunately I do not know which ones. But I trust Coetzee's skill. People who know about screenplays have said that he's done an impressive job.

I would like to add that Coetzee is not a difficult read. Clear sentences, very straightforward. The challenge with Coetzee lies inside the story's ideas. We read it straight, absorb it and then we wonder.

Here is an example from the paragraph above. So, we read the word "blind' more than once. Okay, now why is Coetzee focusing on 'blind'? Because there are other references scattered through the book that dwell on 'not seeing.' And once you notice the repetition of this concept you begin to wonder what he is saying to you -- the reader.

I see Coetzee as a magician. He is doing a trick and you enjoy the trick and applaud. Then you realize that the more is going on in this basic pretty ordinary trick. You start thinking about what you saw and suddenly the 'art of the trick is so much greater than the surface you applauded. It's as though the trick exposes a truth to you that you never before considered.

It is easy to understand this story. With discussion and sharing, your understanding deepens. With additional reading, such as background or academic articles, you can go deeper. But the POINT of the story shines out clear.

Think of it this way. Waiting for the Barbarians could not be a great film unless it was a book that was EASY to re-organize as a film. EASY to make it visual.

So, I encourage people to take up the book. You won't lose interest. It moves. And some of the scenes are very, very compelling, unforgettable. You SEE it in your head.