Many masterpieces are recognized well after they come and go. Van Gogh sold only a few paintings in his life. No, this isn't a masterpiece of Van Gogh statue, and won't be the of the 2-3 best films of the year, but it is one of the finer drama films in the past several years. And the novel by Nobel Prize winner Coetzee should be seen as a superior gem. However, this film is a gem in its own rights. Beautifully acted by Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson, this film is mythical and timeless as a study of human nature, power, imperialism, and how conquerors dehumanize and how resistance forms. It is filmed in Morroco and is namelessly fictitious in its thematic treatment of the subject. Cinematography and film score are beautiful. Unfortunately, critics today are a bit shallow and people need increasing stimulation and this film does not meet those expectations. As other people may say, it is a slow burn into myth. But very worth seeing for mature audiences who appreciate philosophical interpretations of human nature and conquest. Actual rating 8.5 or the type of film which is a minor masterpiece deserving to win a few awards at lesser film festivals.

The film takes place in a fictional desert location in a past time. The local frontier post is run peacefully by the magistrate (Mari Ryance). Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp) shows up with stories about an impending attack from the barbarians or the local nomadic sheep herders. His presence disturbs the peace as the local magistrate attempts to repair the damage done by his own empire.

Well acted and vividly shot. It is a story that has been told so many times from the French in Morocco to the British in Afghanistan. The empire soldiers lacked character. They were dull and boring. The plot lacked depth.

Guide: Brief nudity (Isabella Nefar). No sex or swearing.

The film has all the look and feel of an indictment on British colonialism, even if the subject location is unknown and the reigning authority is unidentified. The story quickly gets to the point that the barbarians one is waiting for are the colonial soldiers dispatched to quell a supposedly nomadic uprising by an indigenous people with no means to fight a war. Johnny Depp turns in another off kilter performance, not as flamboyant say as a Jack Sparrow, but bizarre enough to qualify as one of his numerous oddball characterizations. Mark Rylance portrays the magistrate of a desert outpost who wisely rules as a humanist in a live and let live manner, recognizing that leaving well enough alone is the only sane way to conduct affairs when the potential opposition can become deadly upon a moments' notice. It takes a while to get to that point, and in the meantime, the magistrate evokes the imagery of a humble Jesus washing the feet and tending to the depradations of a nomad woman savagely beaten by her captors. He maintains a stoic and dignified manner, even while being charged with treasonously consorting with the desert barbarians. My favorite scene was where the magistrate made up the story to go with the slips of carved ancient writing, only to invite further wrath from a nominal superior. Because the story was fictional, it left me with an empty feeling at the end. There was also the dubious continuity of the seasons during which the story took place, as it proceeded in order from summer to winter, and then from spring to autumn. Better if that were not even mentioned, as the look of the desert locale didn't change at all.