2020·Drama·1h 52m
6.8
★
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.
Directed by Ciro Guerra
based on novel or book
colony
torture
desert
colonization
east asia
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Mark Rylance
The Magistrate
Johnny Depp
Colonel Joll
Robert Pattinson
Officer Mandel
Gana Bayarsaikhan
The Girl
Greta Scacchi
Mai
David Dencik
The Clerk
Sam Reid
The Lieutenant
Harry Melling
Garrison Soldier #4
Bill Milner
Garrison Soldier #5
Tserendagva Purevdorj
Old Barbarian
Hami Belal
Joll's Man #1
Wil Coban
Mandel's Guard #1
Crew
Ciro Guerra
Director
Ciro Guerra
Screenplay
Chris Menges
Director of Photography
Olga Segura-Gall
Producer
Andrea Iervolino
Producer
Michael Fitzgerald
Producer
J.M. Coetzee
Novel
Ilario Monti
First Assistant Editor
Popular Reviews
61 reviews
Tobias Froberg
10.0★ · 01/28/26
So HBO Max just released this in Denmark with "2026" next to the release date... which is bizarre considering this came out in 2019.
But holy shit, what a cast. Why have I never heard of this movie? Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson made a fucking movie together. And not just any movie: a genuinely beautiful film that sits comfortably alongside classic westerns. I might even compare it to Lawrence of Arabia.
And I can't be the only one who just instantly thought of Willy Wonka when I saw those sunglasses Johnny was wearing. And also kind of wanted to see Robert in them...
And another reason why this cast is just so crazy is that there are these faces that you know, because they have such memorable faces and always shine and stand out even when they aren't in focus in the frame... like Henry Melling and Sam Reid.
This was truly phenomenal, and I'm struggling to find the words. Usually, I hate discussing story, themes, and meaning because they often feel hollow, but not here. This one earned it. There are no fast cuts or high-energy scenes, yet it's gripping as hell because of the story itself and what it's exploring: a personal journey of discovery, learning who you're really working for, and finding a way out. It examines whether a good man can exist within a corrupt system, touches on colonialism, and shows that neither side is wholly good. Like this is one of those movies that i think everyone should watch... because it really is that deep, entertaining, and just fucking incredible and will teach you more about how life isn't black and white and how people aren't either...
And the entire character of The Magistrate is super interesting, in terms of how he was written... and i am not a writer, and i don't know what the writer was thinking, and i can't figure out why they deliberately decided to make The Magistrate resemble Jesus Christ is extremely interesting.
And the cinematography. Stunning. I actually caught myself noticing the visual symbolism, which rarely happens on the first go but this one was obvious. There's this one shot: our protagonist sees a vision of the girl he loves from the barbarian side, looking beautiful. Then it cuts to a wide shot with him on one side of the frame, a shadow cutting down the middle, alluding to her on the other side, and to symbolize that they can never be together because you can't have a shadow where there is light and you can have light where there is a shadow.
And talking about the cinematography... you know you have become addicted to your phone and instagram reels that you sometimes imagine scenes in vertical format? And honestly this movie would actually work perfectly both ways. It's already perfect in horizontal, but I genuinely think you could throw this right into a vertical format and it would work as well... that is just how beautifully shot this movie was.
And how the fuck is this only rated 3 stars... like truly what did people not like? was it just because Robert Pattinson took 75 minutes or something to show up on screen? or why?
But holy shit, what a cast. Why have I never heard of this movie? Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson made a fucking movie together. And not just any movie: a genuinely beautiful film that sits comfortably alongside classic westerns. I might even compare it to Lawrence of Arabia.
And I can't be the only one who just instantly thought of Willy Wonka when I saw those sunglasses Johnny was wearing. And also kind of wanted to see Robert in them...
And another reason why this cast is just so crazy is that there are these faces that you know, because they have such memorable faces and always shine and stand out even when they aren't in focus in the frame... like Henry Melling and Sam Reid.
This was truly phenomenal, and I'm struggling to find the words. Usually, I hate discussing story, themes, and meaning because they often feel hollow, but not here. This one earned it. There are no fast cuts or high-energy scenes, yet it's gripping as hell because of the story itself and what it's exploring: a personal journey of discovery, learning who you're really working for, and finding a way out. It examines whether a good man can exist within a corrupt system, touches on colonialism, and shows that neither side is wholly good. Like this is one of those movies that i think everyone should watch... because it really is that deep, entertaining, and just fucking incredible and will teach you more about how life isn't black and white and how people aren't either...
And the entire character of The Magistrate is super interesting, in terms of how he was written... and i am not a writer, and i don't know what the writer was thinking, and i can't figure out why they deliberately decided to make The Magistrate resemble Jesus Christ is extremely interesting.
And the cinematography. Stunning. I actually caught myself noticing the visual symbolism, which rarely happens on the first go but this one was obvious. There's this one shot: our protagonist sees a vision of the girl he loves from the barbarian side, looking beautiful. Then it cuts to a wide shot with him on one side of the frame, a shadow cutting down the middle, alluding to her on the other side, and to symbolize that they can never be together because you can't have a shadow where there is light and you can have light where there is a shadow.
And talking about the cinematography... you know you have become addicted to your phone and instagram reels that you sometimes imagine scenes in vertical format? And honestly this movie would actually work perfectly both ways. It's already perfect in horizontal, but I genuinely think you could throw this right into a vertical format and it would work as well... that is just how beautifully shot this movie was.
And how the fuck is this only rated 3 stars... like truly what did people not like? was it just because Robert Pattinson took 75 minutes or something to show up on screen? or why?
So HBO Max just released this in Denmark with "2026" next to the release date... which is bizarre considering this came out in 2019.
But holy shit, what a cast. Why have I never heard of this movie? Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson made a fucking movie together. And not just any movie: a genuinely beautiful film that sits comfortably alongside classic westerns. I might even compare it to Lawrence of Arabia.
And I can't be the only one who just instantly thought of Willy Wonka when I saw those sunglasses Johnny was wearing. And also kind of wanted to see Robert in them...
And another reason why this cast is just so crazy is that there are these faces that you know, because they have such memorable faces and always shine and stand out even when they aren't in focus in the frame... like Henry Melling and Sam Reid.
This was truly phenomenal, and I'm struggling to find the words. Usually, I hate discussing story, themes, and meaning because they often feel hollow, but not here. This one earned it. There are no fast cuts or high-energy scenes, yet it's gripping as hell because of the story itself and what it's exploring: a personal journey of discovery, learning who you're really working for, and finding a way out. It examines whether a good man can exist within a corrupt system, touches on colonialism, and shows that neither side is wholly good. Like this is one of those movies that i think everyone should watch... because it really is that deep, entertaining, and just fucking incredible and will teach you more about how life isn't black and white and how people aren't either...
And the entire character of The Magistrate is super interesting, in terms of how he was written... and i am not a writer, and i don't know what the writer was thinking, and i can't figure out why they deliberately decided to make The Magistrate resemble Jesus Christ is extremely interesting.
And the cinematography. Stunning. I actually caught myself noticing the visual symbolism, which rarely happens on the first go but this one was obvious. There's this one shot: our protagonist sees a vision of the girl he loves from the barbarian side, looking beautiful. Then it cuts to a wide shot with him on one side of the frame, a shadow cutting down the middle, alluding to her on the other side, and to symbolize that they can never be together because you can't have a shadow where there is light and you can have light where there is a shadow.
And talking about the cinematography... you know you have become addicted to your phone and instagram reels that you sometimes imagine scenes in vertical format? And honestly this movie would actually work perfectly both ways. It's already perfect in horizontal, but I genuinely think you could throw this right into a vertical format and it would work as well... that is just how beautifully shot this movie was.
And how the fuck is this only rated 3 stars... like truly what did people not like? was it just because Robert Pattinson took 75 minutes or something to show up on screen? or why?
But holy shit, what a cast. Why have I never heard of this movie? Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp, and Robert Pattinson made a fucking movie together. And not just any movie: a genuinely beautiful film that sits comfortably alongside classic westerns. I might even compare it to Lawrence of Arabia.
And I can't be the only one who just instantly thought of Willy Wonka when I saw those sunglasses Johnny was wearing. And also kind of wanted to see Robert in them...
And another reason why this cast is just so crazy is that there are these faces that you know, because they have such memorable faces and always shine and stand out even when they aren't in focus in the frame... like Henry Melling and Sam Reid.
This was truly phenomenal, and I'm struggling to find the words. Usually, I hate discussing story, themes, and meaning because they often feel hollow, but not here. This one earned it. There are no fast cuts or high-energy scenes, yet it's gripping as hell because of the story itself and what it's exploring: a personal journey of discovery, learning who you're really working for, and finding a way out. It examines whether a good man can exist within a corrupt system, touches on colonialism, and shows that neither side is wholly good. Like this is one of those movies that i think everyone should watch... because it really is that deep, entertaining, and just fucking incredible and will teach you more about how life isn't black and white and how people aren't either...
And the entire character of The Magistrate is super interesting, in terms of how he was written... and i am not a writer, and i don't know what the writer was thinking, and i can't figure out why they deliberately decided to make The Magistrate resemble Jesus Christ is extremely interesting.
And the cinematography. Stunning. I actually caught myself noticing the visual symbolism, which rarely happens on the first go but this one was obvious. There's this one shot: our protagonist sees a vision of the girl he loves from the barbarian side, looking beautiful. Then it cuts to a wide shot with him on one side of the frame, a shadow cutting down the middle, alluding to her on the other side, and to symbolize that they can never be together because you can't have a shadow where there is light and you can have light where there is a shadow.
And talking about the cinematography... you know you have become addicted to your phone and instagram reels that you sometimes imagine scenes in vertical format? And honestly this movie would actually work perfectly both ways. It's already perfect in horizontal, but I genuinely think you could throw this right into a vertical format and it would work as well... that is just how beautifully shot this movie was.
And how the fuck is this only rated 3 stars... like truly what did people not like? was it just because Robert Pattinson took 75 minutes or something to show up on screen? or why?
Svea
7.0★ · 10/04/25
With all due disrespect to Johnny's and Robert's characters: What the actual fuck?
With all due disrespect to Johnny's and Robert's characters: What the actual fuck?
Kelz
2.0★ · 08/25/25
I only watched this for Robert Pattinson 🥀🥀
I only watched this for Robert Pattinson 🥀🥀
Chèrie
7.0★ · 08/22/25
Seeing tserendagva and johhny depp together is weird
Seeing tserendagva and johhny depp together is weird
ankle
5.0★ · 04/17/25
had a statement to make, had no worthwhile substance to back it up. the characters were caricatures
had a statement to make, had no worthwhile substance to back it up. the characters were caricatures