Meet the Barbarians

Directed and starring Julie Delpy (see our Before Sunrise screening on April 4), Meet the Barbarians is a perfect film to kick-start Miami Film Festival’s 42nd edition.

All is well in Paimpont, Brittany, where harmony reigns among the locals. There’s Joëlle, the schoolteacher who’s inclined to lecture people; Anne, who owns a convenience store and likes a good aperitif; Hervé, a plumber from Alsace who’s even more Breton than the locals; and Johnny, the local ranger.

In a show of solidarity, the town enthusiastically votes to host some Ukrainian refugees. But the refugees, it turns out, aren’t so Ukrainian after all. They’re Syrian! And some of the folks in this charming little town aren’t very pleased with having them for neighbors.

So, when all is said and done, who are the barbarians?