I know this isn't a political diary, but I thought maybe some would like a break from healthcare debates and what not to discuss one of my favorite subjects... movies! Herein is my summation and review of Quentin Tarantino's new film, Inglourious Basterds.
Like most people, I was first introduced to Quentin Tarantino through his film Pulp Fiction, a movie that still stands as one of the most individual examples of unique filmmaking in recent decades. Since then, I have not been a huge Tarantino fan, although I have seen several of his movies, for better or for worse (Jackie Brown and Kill Bill - better; From Dusk til Dawn - worse). So while I appreciate Tarantino's unique take on filmmaking, I'm by no means a fanboy.
When I first say previews for his latest opus, Inglourious Basterds, I was not particularly interested. While I am a history buff and tend to enjoy World War 2 movies, I suspected that the Tarantino brand of ultra-violent action would turn me off of this. Indeed, the previews made it sound like this was simply an action romp in which the titular heroes would spend the entire movie bashing Nazi brains in. No thanks, I thought, as I prefer a much more nuanced approach to the subject, and I frankly do not enjoy mindless, gory violence if it's simply for violence's sake. But some friends made me go see it opening weekend, and I thought what the hell.
The previews are quite misleading, however.
In brief, the movie is not really about the "Basterds," a fictional team of 8 Jewish-American commandos who are charged with infiltrating German-occupied France during the war and simply killing as many "Natsees" as possible. The purpose is to spread fear and revulsion, thus demoralizing the German forces. It's also simply for revenge against the murderous brutality of the Nazi regime against the Jews of Europe. No, the film is, like most Tarantino flicks, about a large cast of characters who come and go and interact throughout the movie. In fact, the screen time of the Basterds is surprisingly small and secondary to other plots being covered.
The film is divided into five chapters, each of which focuses on a certain group of characters. In the opening chapter, a French farmer suspected of harboring fugitive Jews is questioned by Nazi S.S. Colonel Hans Landa, infamously known as "The Jew Hunter."
The second chapter introduces us to the Basterds, headed by the outrageously gruff and gumptious Lt. Aldo Raine, who spells out the previously-mentioned Nazi-killin' mission to his selected men. We are then shown the Basterds in action, juxtaposed with reaction to their deeds by an hysterical Adolf Hitler.
The third chapter focuses on Shoshannah Dreyfus, a French Jew who escaped from the evil Col. Landa and is now under an assumed identity. She owns a movie theater in German-occupied Paris and is courted by a young German soldier named Fredrick Zoller, who turns out to be a war hero and Nazi Propaganda film star (basically a German Audie Murphy). Zoller's unwanted attentions lead her to be approached by none other than Joseph Goebbels, who decides to premier Zoller's new movie at her theater. Shoshannah sees this as an opportunity to hatch her own revenge scheme against the Nazis.
In the fourth chapter, English movie critic-turned-commando (yeah) Lt. Archie Hicox, is given a dangerous mission due to his fluent German-speaking skills: meet up with the Basterds in France, and then connect with a German undercover double agent to orchestrate a daring plan to foil Goebbel's movie premier and take out the Nazi officials who will be attending. The German agent turns out to be beautiful move star Briget von Hammerstark, whom Hicox and two other Basterds (Cpl. Wilhelm Wicki and former German soldier Hugo Stiglitz) meet in a basement French bar... only to encounter a group of drunken German soldiers celebrating the birth of one's new son.
The fifth and final chapter takes place at the premier of Goebbel's film in Paris, and brings together all of the (surviving) cast members for a final showdown. The stakes are raised even higher when it is learned that Hitler himself will be attending the premier.
Now, this summary leaves a LOT out, but that's because to go into more detail might give away some of the most enjoyable aspects of the movie. What I will say is that as disjointed and somewhat dull as that summary seems, the movie is actually brilliantly paced, and each scene escalataes in tension until it has a big, usually violent climax. Tarantino builds tension like no director I've seen--you literally slide to the edge of your seat as each chapter progresses.
First off, this movie is meant as a fantasy-farce, not a serious World War 2 movie. If you go into this expecting accurate history, you will be sorely disappointed. Tarantino hammers this point home at the beginning, starting the movie with the title "Once upon a time..." That still probably won't prepare you for what has to be the most a-historical movie ending you've ever seen!
This is not a mindless action film, either--in fact, the action sequences are actually few and far between. This is a TALKING movie, and it's mostly spoken in a language other than English! (German and French dominate, with one hilarious sojourn into Italian). Audiences uncomfortable reading subtitles won't enjoy this movie, that's for sure. I was nervous about the gory violence, as I don't really like that, but honestly in this movie it's done in such an over-the-top way that it really didn't bother me. Well, there is one death that is particularly graphic, but it doesn't involve any blood whatsoever.
The acting performances are all-round brilliant. Tarantino wisely chose to cast the roles with actors who are of the actual nationality of their characters, with one glaring exception (Mike Myers in a cameo role that really doesn't work). His script is chock full of juicy dialogue, giving the actors plenty of opportunity to display their mettle.
Brad Pitt is suitably over-the-top as Lt. Raine, a figure who just has to be played with almost scenery-chewing elan. He is always fun to watch when he's on screen, and his surprisingly limited screen time saves the character from becoming irritating.
As the lovely Shoshannah, French actress Melanie Laurent shines and effortlessly conveys both haunted grief and seething contempt for the Nazis who murdered her family. She moves convincingly between playing the fragile waif to being an agent of deadly vengeance on her enemies.
The real star of this movie, however, is Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who plays the villainous Col. Landa. Waltz won the Cannes Film Festival prize for Best Supporting Actor, and his nomination for an Oscar is assured. In his hands, Landa instantly becomes one of the all-time great movie villains, easily gliding between four different languages with soothing, endearing charm layered over unbelievable evil and sadism. Waltz steals every scene he is in, and makes you almost wish he gets away with his brilliantly opportunistic schemes. I'll definitely be rooting for Waltz come Oscar time.
The rest of the roles are performed by top-notch talent who bring their A-game: German actress Diane Kruger is a beautiful but deadly von Hammerstark; English actor Michael Fassbender is great as Lt. Hicox, a rather typical WW2 courtly English officer; and German actors Daniel Bruh (Zoller) and Til Schweiger (Stilgitz) deliver fantastic portrayals, the former being surprisingly sympathetic and the latter hilariously unhinged. Even American Eli Roth, best known for directing the repulsive "Hostel" movies, performs admirably as Lt. Donny Donowitz, perhaps the most brutal of the Basterds.
Overall, I'd say that while this movie isn't as fast-paced as other Tarantino films and therefore not as effortlessly enjoyable as, say, Pulp Fiction, it does represent his finest writing and directing to date. It's clear he considers it his masterpiece, and I'm inclined to agree. If you enjoy well-crafted movies with stellar performances, I don't hesitate to recommend this film. If nothing else, it's worth seeing for Waltz's incredible performance.
WARNING: As you might suspect, Inglourious Basterds contains some very graphic violence, including characters being shot, clubbed to death, choked to death, burned to death, and the like. There are also two gruesome non-death scenes which feature a finger being stuck into a gaping bullet hole in someone's leg, and a "memento" being carved into someone's forehead. Dead Nazis are alse seen getting scalped. You'll probably squirm uncomfortably at least once.