Inglourious Basterds (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Most of 'Inglourious Basterds', written & directed by Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill's 1 & 2) IS glorious. Slightly differing from how it's been advertised, the film follows 2 fictional stories of equal balance. Set in Nazi-occupied France during WWII, the film is broken up into 5 chapters. The 1st introduces us to Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent), a French Jew hiding under the floorboards of a dairy farmer's house. The farmer is visited by the snake-like, yet oddly charming SS Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz); a man who's earned the nickname "The Jew Hunter". Landa is smart - unbelievably smart; smelling out a Jew like you smell out a 'Rat'. In this great, extended opening sequence, Landa realizes that this poor farmer is harboring Jews & has his men open fire at the floorboards. Shoshanna is the only one to escape; fleeing to Paris where she is running a small movie house under an assumed name.
Meanwhile, our 2nd story follows Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) & his band of Jewish-American "Basterds"; though, 2 of them are Germans who joined the 'bright' side. They've landed in France & are performing swift acts of retribution on the Nazis. Shooting them, slitting their throats, bludgeoning, & scalping them. The "B's" are so infamous, in fact, that even Hitler laments them. British authorities send Lt. Archie Hicox (a great Michael Fassbender) overseas with their own plan to do away with the Third Reich. Intelligence indicates that the 4 major players of the German hierarchy will be at a small theater in Paris for the premiere of a new propaganda film ... the same movie house that Shoshanna owns! The goal (for the Basterds & Brits) is to blow up the movie house & kill Hitler's top guns. For this to happen, the Basterds must make contact with a double agent, German actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger). She can get them close enough to plant the bomb inside the movie house. But will their plan work? Poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own, what does Shoshanna have up her sleeve?
History is re-written in 'Inglourious Basterds'. And I think the genius of Tarantino's screenplay is - not only that it has the audacity to re-write WWII, but that it's executed so extremely well. The scenarios are interesting (intricate, startling, & humorous). The dialogue (for the most part) is taut, witty, & intuitive. Some of my favorite scenes are the "talky" ones. i.e., the opening scene, a bar scene where Germans play an extended 20-questions type of game; and there's a great scene near the end involving the fitting of one's foot into a particular shoe. With each deliberately-delivered sentence ... the tension mounts. And most of these extended sequences either precede from or proceed to sudden bursts of visceral violence ... fun violence.
Now, the screenplay is not perfect. I wasn't gung-ho about the last 10 minutes. But I do respect the audacity of it all. And the fact that the movie is so unpredictable made it compelling; even at 149 min. Also, Tarantino is a movie lover. And he infuses his film with several imaginative cinematic references (from other movies). I'm fascinated by how many genres, styles, sources, & artistic flourishes Tarantino is able to conjure. He uses tongue-in-cheek chapter titles to introduce certain scenes. He utilizes out-of-period music pieces. Hitler & his #2 man, Joseph Goebbels, are treated as real-life caricatures (haha). Even the Basterds are exaggerated. Tarantino brings up themes of misogyny, amorality, heroism (who are the heroes, who are the villains?), feminism (wonderfully realized by the Shoshanna character), sadism, torture, morbidity, kick-ass action, dark humor (really good stuff), romance, intrigue, & melodrama.
Brad Pitt does well as Raine; bringing bravado & humor to the role. My theater was laughing out loud quite a bit at his line delivery & antics. Melanie Laurent stands out as femme fatale, Shoshanna. Every year there seems to be another French actress who comes out nowhere to absolutely floor me. Her portrayal of the heartbroken, yet vengeful Jewish woman is wonderful. Her eyes tell the story when she's not saying a word. Diane Kruger gives an excellent virtuoso performance as the undercover actress plotting against her country. And Christoph Waltz, as the Landa the Jew Hunter, is the biggest revelation. His role is evil incarnate: twisted, unsettling, and yet, engaging, charismatic, & extremely welcome. Every time he entered a scene, I was excited to see just what he would say & what he would do. And I never assumed his character would go where he goes.
'Inglourious Basterds' is not a brilliant motion picture. Some scenes are a tad self-indulgent. Some characters could have been cut (like Mike Myers' cameo). And some audiences may find the tone of the film to be insensitive. But overall, I found this war fantasy to be fiendishly entertaining & highly absorbing. The cinematography is beautiful. The art direction & costumes are wonderfully detailed. Even the sound design impressed me. I loved a majority of the dialogue. I flinched at the gross humor (scalpings, anyone?). And though you can't believe it as you're watching, the film really does build to something in the end. The irony of what happens at the movie house is incredible (magnetized by the visual we see on the screen). Even if you don't love the ending (maybe, how cold & calculated it is), the 2 hour + build-up to the climax is something to see. I think 'Inglourious Basterds' is terrific & a great movie to close out the summer season.
Meanwhile, our 2nd story follows Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) & his band of Jewish-American "Basterds"; though, 2 of them are Germans who joined the 'bright' side. They've landed in France & are performing swift acts of retribution on the Nazis. Shooting them, slitting their throats, bludgeoning, & scalping them. The "B's" are so infamous, in fact, that even Hitler laments them. British authorities send Lt. Archie Hicox (a great Michael Fassbender) overseas with their own plan to do away with the Third Reich. Intelligence indicates that the 4 major players of the German hierarchy will be at a small theater in Paris for the premiere of a new propaganda film ... the same movie house that Shoshanna owns! The goal (for the Basterds & Brits) is to blow up the movie house & kill Hitler's top guns. For this to happen, the Basterds must make contact with a double agent, German actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger). She can get them close enough to plant the bomb inside the movie house. But will their plan work? Poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own, what does Shoshanna have up her sleeve?
History is re-written in 'Inglourious Basterds'. And I think the genius of Tarantino's screenplay is - not only that it has the audacity to re-write WWII, but that it's executed so extremely well. The scenarios are interesting (intricate, startling, & humorous). The dialogue (for the most part) is taut, witty, & intuitive. Some of my favorite scenes are the "talky" ones. i.e., the opening scene, a bar scene where Germans play an extended 20-questions type of game; and there's a great scene near the end involving the fitting of one's foot into a particular shoe. With each deliberately-delivered sentence ... the tension mounts. And most of these extended sequences either precede from or proceed to sudden bursts of visceral violence ... fun violence.
Now, the screenplay is not perfect. I wasn't gung-ho about the last 10 minutes. But I do respect the audacity of it all. And the fact that the movie is so unpredictable made it compelling; even at 149 min. Also, Tarantino is a movie lover. And he infuses his film with several imaginative cinematic references (from other movies). I'm fascinated by how many genres, styles, sources, & artistic flourishes Tarantino is able to conjure. He uses tongue-in-cheek chapter titles to introduce certain scenes. He utilizes out-of-period music pieces. Hitler & his #2 man, Joseph Goebbels, are treated as real-life caricatures (haha). Even the Basterds are exaggerated. Tarantino brings up themes of misogyny, amorality, heroism (who are the heroes, who are the villains?), feminism (wonderfully realized by the Shoshanna character), sadism, torture, morbidity, kick-ass action, dark humor (really good stuff), romance, intrigue, & melodrama.
Brad Pitt does well as Raine; bringing bravado & humor to the role. My theater was laughing out loud quite a bit at his line delivery & antics. Melanie Laurent stands out as femme fatale, Shoshanna. Every year there seems to be another French actress who comes out nowhere to absolutely floor me. Her portrayal of the heartbroken, yet vengeful Jewish woman is wonderful. Her eyes tell the story when she's not saying a word. Diane Kruger gives an excellent virtuoso performance as the undercover actress plotting against her country. And Christoph Waltz, as the Landa the Jew Hunter, is the biggest revelation. His role is evil incarnate: twisted, unsettling, and yet, engaging, charismatic, & extremely welcome. Every time he entered a scene, I was excited to see just what he would say & what he would do. And I never assumed his character would go where he goes.
'Inglourious Basterds' is not a brilliant motion picture. Some scenes are a tad self-indulgent. Some characters could have been cut (like Mike Myers' cameo). And some audiences may find the tone of the film to be insensitive. But overall, I found this war fantasy to be fiendishly entertaining & highly absorbing. The cinematography is beautiful. The art direction & costumes are wonderfully detailed. Even the sound design impressed me. I loved a majority of the dialogue. I flinched at the gross humor (scalpings, anyone?). And though you can't believe it as you're watching, the film really does build to something in the end. The irony of what happens at the movie house is incredible (magnetized by the visual we see on the screen). Even if you don't love the ending (maybe, how cold & calculated it is), the 2 hour + build-up to the climax is something to see. I think 'Inglourious Basterds' is terrific & a great movie to close out the summer season.