Quentin Tarantino, love or hate him, definitely knows film. If you’ve ever heard him talk, the man is a literal encyclopedia of cinema. To prove (or flaunt) it, film culture itself plays at least some role in each of his movies. Inglourious Basterds takes his adoration and pushes it to a new level. This is a film that revels in everything that makes cinema both an art form and entertainment; it’s a film made for film’s sake. Oh, and there’s exploding testicles, too. Fun for the whole family!
In essence Inglourious Basterds is a World War II spaghetti western set in an alternate universe. No, that doesn’t infer science fiction; just don’t expect a historically accurate representation of what went down in Nazi-overrun France. It’s about two revenge tales, one with the Basterds scalping their way through the Nazi lines and the other following a Jewish woman named Shosanna who discovers possible retribution for her murdered family.
Like many of Tarantino’s movies, Basterds is told in a distinct format. Broken into five chapters, the plot is told through what is essentially five short films. Having the story unfold from very distinct scenes really makes the 2-1/2 hour runtime seem short. Each chapter is its own entity, but each helps drive the main narrative to the big finale.
The script is nearly perfect. Originally written as a mini-series, Quentin was able to trim away the fat (if there was any) to make a densely crafted screenplay where no scene is in excess and no line of dialogue is filler. Every word or action serves a purpose, building the characters and situations in such a well-rounded way that Quentin’s tendency for long, wordy dialogue is still very easily accessible and enjoyable. And although the script is tight, I think the humor is the actual selling point for me. Every word that came out of Brad Pitt’s mouth was funny, if not hilarious (especially his ‘conversation’ at the movie premiere).
Speaking of Pitt, the cast was simply great. From the two more-or-less main roles (Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine and Mélanie Laurent as Shosanna) down to the bit parts (Eli Roth as the wide-eyed, bat-bashing Bear Jew), everyone fit their role with ease. But it was Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans ‘Jew Hunter’ Landa that surpassed everyone. On paper I have no doubt this character came off as idiotic, but the man nailed his performance. Whether with a calm, precise demeanor or a flamboyant facade, everything he says has an underlying threat, almost playfully messing with the heads of the people with whom he is conversing. This performance is up there with Anton Chigurh as one of the best villains of modern-day, if not ever.
There were definitely a few pitfalls (like the final projection booth scene where drama trumps common sense), but overall Inglourious Basterds is a worthy Tarantino film.
Final Verdict – 9/10
On a side note, you may have seen the trailer and thought “Hey, Tarantino and Pitt are making a war movie. Must be in English.” Well, you’re about 10% right. The majority of this film is spoken in German and French with English subtitles. I’m pretty positive the people who voted this film a 1 on IMDb either are active haters of Tarantino or don’t enjoy reading subtitles, which is understandable. The trailer is a little deceiving, so consider this your warning.
