MEET THE BARBARIANS

Wednesday, October 22 2025


Meet the Barbarians
France 2024
Location: SilverCity
Showtimes: 6:30 & 8:30 pm


Director: Julie Delpy
Cast: Julie Delpy, Sandrine Kiberlain, Laurent Lafitte, Ziad Bakri
Jean-Charles Clichet
Running Time: 101 minutes
Language: French with English subtitles


Miami Film Festival:  Nominee—Knight Marimbas Award, Julie Delpy


“Delpy, whose directing career has swung between darker dramas and punchy comedies of manners, ably braids those two tones together here. Added bonus: a dash of some delightful mockumentary hi-jinks.—Kate Erbland, Indiewire


A small town in France preparing to welcome a Ukrainian refugee family is surprised when a Syrian family shows up instead in Julie Delpy’s touching comedy about integration.


From her art house origins acting in films by Jean-Luc Godard and Krzysztof Kieślowski to Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy to her own films as a director, one quality defines Julie Delpy’s work: truth. Whether delivered in light comedy or devastating drama, Delpy’s work serves up the uncomfortable and the undeniable in a single coup de grâce. 


In “Meet the Barbarians,” it’s a frequently hilarious pleasure to watch her cast that truthful gaze on small town France. Paimpont sits nestled in Brittany, content with its centuries-old heritage, its crêpes, and its flattering self-image. The town council is delighted they’ll soon be welcoming refugees from Ukraine. But it turns out that too many in France have already taken in Ukrainian refugees, so the van that pulls into Paimpont one day delivers a refugee family from Syria instead. Awkward.


As the extended Fayad family finds its footing in a village very much set in its ways, both townspeople and newcomers must rethink their preconceptions. Will the local businessman (Laurent Lafitte) hold onto his xenophobic views? Can the Fayads bridge the gulf between their lives in war-torn Syria and their current disappointments in Paimpont? Will the town’s crusading progressive (Delpy) herself descend into petty barbarism?


“Meet the Barbarians” strikes just the right balance of humour, ideas, and heart. Powered by sharp writing and deft performances — Rita Hayek and Sandrine Kiberlain are standouts— this is a classic comedy of integration.