Dreadfully Boring

A Brilliant Conflict

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The Barbarian has to be seen to be believed. That's if you're able to believe this unbelievably ridiculous plot. Ramon Navarro's Jamil is the textbook definition of a creep and why the characters in the movie take as long as they do to realise this is beyond me. Throughout much of the film he treats the Myrna Loy's Diana like dirt. He kidnaps her, drags her into the desert, has her whipped by another man so he can pretend to save her and on top of that, or at least what's implied, he rapes her. Throughout The Barbarian I was thinking there's no way these two are getting together at the end of the film but with only five minutes run time left to go, Diana ditches her nice loving fiancé for the man who earlier in the film kidnapped her and made her life a living hell. Why?! Stockholm syndrome, abused wife syndrome, girls just love a bad boy syndrome?The final scene of the movie shows the two in a loving embrace on barge under the moonlight, implying that his ending is supposed to be happy. Uh no, this is dark and disturbing. This women is with a man who is the most morally dubious character being presented as the hero of the story I've ever seen. Is it supposed to be ironic or just horribly misguided? The Barbarian however is a rare instance of a movie which I feel kind of bad for having enjoyed, like I have to have the TV facing the wall in the corner of a room with the volume lowered, not letting anyone knowing I'm watching such a thing; or at least that was the case until I decided to post a review on the internet.So what makes this movie enjoyable? For starters, there is the unmitigated joy that comes from watching politically incorrect pre- code movies. I've seen some crazy pre-code films but this just takes the cake. It's like a train wreck, it's so shocking but you can't look away. Moments of The Barbarian are shocking, other times it's unintentionally funny, yet despite this bizarre mish-mash, the film works. It's engaging and there's tension throughout, the sets and locations are superb, feeling like a tourist brochure at its exotic interiors and landscapes and there's Myrna Loy's bathtub scene, a moment of astounding risqué beauty and one of the sexiest scenes in all of cinema. Loy actually shows a lot of skin throughout the film in a range of skimpy attire. This is also the only movie I've seen to date which shows that the Pyramids of Giza are right beside the city of Cairo and not in the middle of nowhere - Who knew! Watch and observe The Barbarian in all its unbelievable pre-code glory.

It's amazing to me how wrapped up in hysteria some people get. Yes, this film clearly implies rape. Rape happens. It's detestable. Films -- to varying degrees -- depict human life. Therefore, I expect films to sometimes depict unpleasant topics. And that should not be a reason that we give a positive or negative critique of a movie. What's important is how the film approaches a topic. Admittedly, this film doesn't approach it very well.Although I had often heard the name Ramon Novarro, I don't believe I had ever seen one of his films...I guess I thought of him as too much in the silent era. So this film was a learning experience for me...particularly after reading his bio on Wikipedia. In terms of his performance in the film, I found it interesting, but I was not exactly surprised when I learned that in real life he was gay. He doesn't seem very macho in this film, which sort of belies the character he was playing. He does come across -- at least in our time -- as a pervert, so I wonder how he would have been perceived in this film in 1933. But, despite his supposedly being a romantic lover, his gestures and behavior definitely suggest his gayness. But, still, it's interesting.Myrna Loy was very good, as she almost always was.Reginald Denny...well, he did okay here, but I never quite saw the attraction for him in films. It always nice to see the great character actor C. Aubrey Smith, and he's fine here...although in not so noble a role as we often saw him, and with little real screen time. A surprise was seeing Edward Arnold in a character role as an Egyptian...interesting.In terms of the plot and script, we first meet Ramon Novarro -- as an Egyptian gigolo -- at the train station, where it is clear that he has romanced a number of foreign female tourists...probably robbing them to some extent, as well. And then along comes Myrna Loy with friends and family...his next victim. Early in the film he seems to be annoying in his attempts to insert himself into situations, but alternately being very helpful...although in our time, it would appear to be stalking. And, that interpretation would be justified considering action later in the film. It seems pretty clear that rape does occur in the desert, although you only see the aftermath. Okay, it made sense with this script. But, the conclusion of the film makes no sense at all.Production values are quite high here, particularly considering it was 1933.All in all, worth watching at least once. I guess 1933 must have been a very different national psyche; so that makes it an interesting film.

I think the only saving grace for this film is that is when it was made...1933. Basically you get a suave young lady coming to Cairo to marry her husband. She seems to love him enough then a ruthless womanizer who happens to be a guide/thief in Cairo continually professes his love for her but she resists.They let you know early on that he's a inveterate womanizer but by the end the Myrna Loy character falls in love with him. I mean after he lies to her consistently and she knows it, constantly undermining things between her and her husband, and she knows it...constantly kissing her and she doesn't expect or want it...then the peak of it all, he kidnaps her and forces marriage from her from his tribe. She says yes then turns the tables on him at the ceremony. She gets to leave his ways and she then informs the Egyptian authorities who then set out to catch him (Of course they don't).After all this you already know the ending. There's 2 to 3 minutes left and she finally gets alone in her room ready to get married to her future husband and guess who arrives? You got it, Mr. Charm himself. We then proceed to see them floating down the Nile lying in each others arms.I can only think of this film as offensive to women, in 1 way, is this character so weak minded that she would leave her future husband she loves for a guy who does everything he does to her in the way of lying, cheating and kidnapping and then she decides.."Oh well, I'll go with him cause now I love him."? It's just ridiculous. I can see why this one isn't very popular. It's a dud.If you wanna see where Myrna Loy starts to shine, fast forward a year and start on the "Thin Man" movies. They're a class unto themselves.

I have read the previous comments about this movie, and as much as sexual assault is heinous, it is unfair to judge a movie almost 75 years old by our standards in the 21st century. I have just seen it for the first time and I absolutely fell in love with all the characters and the roles they played! All we saw was Jamil kiss Diana passionately, and there is absolutely NOTHING that follows indicating that sex took place between the two characters at that desert scene. I do not think the writers or directors of the movie intended for us to conclude anything - it was a maybe at best as to whether or not they had sex. I have no use for feminazis who want to destroy older movies by assuming that this scene should be the whole basis of this film. It was well done with super talented actors, beautiful cinematography and magnificent costumes. AND, given the divorce rate today, we really have no right to judge or question why two people (fictional or real) fall in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together. These movies are what they are, some are good and some are, well, um, hmm..... overall, better than most of the modern garbage Hollywood puts out for it. I was so awed by this stunning film and I hope it comes out in DVD someday, I will be first in line to buy it!!!