Inglorious Basterds

As reviewed by skinnyblacktie

Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Brad Pitt, Til Scheiger, Daniel Bruhl, B.J. Novak, Eli Roth and Martin Wuttke

Tonight Chef Tarantino's special is a blood soaked, 'new wave' inspired 'macaroni combat' with a side of 3rd generation retribution. I recommend it. (I would include a hint of 'spaghetti western', but who wants that many starches in one meal?) We first meet 'The Jew Hunter' aka Col. Landis (Christoph Waltz) on a dairy farm in Nazi-occupied France in 1941. Through an exchange of feigned pleasantries with a French dairy farmer believed to be housing Jews, we learn hastily that Landis is very, very good at what he does. Polarized, yet with equal efficiancy and skill at their specific duties, 'The Basterds' come into play. Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), Sgt Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger) along with 'The Bear Jew' (Eli Roth) and company comprise an outfit of American-born Jewish men bread to do one specifically brutal job...kill Nazis (especially Nazis such as Landis). At this point a simple 'seek and destroy' plot could be rested upon, but things become a bit more complex when French cinema owner Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) meets Nazi war hero and movie star Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) and the German movie star Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) becomes involved with the British government. Soon interweaving relationships build and fold, leaving the audience with a climax truly worth applauding.

Tarantino's 'Basterds' pace alternates between the booming escalation of a Phillip Glass piece and the slow humming build of an Old English tale. Each scene contains a peak and valley system which will take you to the edge of your patience, yet reward you with a summit of violence and emotion. The dialogue is sprawling, but filled with gem sentences and a fat diamond at the end of each journey. A true scale is established early on and whether you like it or not, it is a constant. The centerpiece of the screenwriting is the playful and clever anaslysis of dialect, be it German, French, Italian or American. All four dialects and accents (including a hilarious take on British stereotypes) are present and batted back through forth throughout the film. No actor plays with this aspect more than Christoph Waltz who utters all four during the course of the film with arrogance, courtesy and humor on the mind.

Tarantino's direction in the film is something to truly appreciate. His funniest film to date, 'Basterds' is a perfect blend of sophomoric profiling, dark humor and one-liners not previously experienced in Tarantino's films. He was not too afraid to allow the most popular (and most 'tough guy' casted) American actor in the film (Brad Pitt) to provide the most comic relief. Yet, through all of the conventional humor (very much unconventional to the director), Tarantino's stapled situational humor comes forth as casual as two men having a civil conversation while scalping a German S.S. Officer.

Cinematically 'Basterds' is as diverse as the motley array of language used in it. Quick cut scenes, hightlighted around the rims with gun fire, accompany stretched steady-cam shots. The camera takes us into the eyes of a western standoff and then above the studio set to remove the audience from the story for a moment and say,'this is a fictional movie, man...have some fun.' Standard Tarantino stuff applies here.

'Inglorious Basterds' is more than I could have asked for from a new Tarantino film. The plot is interesting without being too smart. The humor is enough to make you laugh at the gore and blood. The direction of pace and character is flawless. Tarantino's most talented film since 'Jackie Brown.'

Story: 8.5

Acting: 9

Look: 10

Overall: 9