Love it or hate, this movie is distinctly Tarantino. He plays to no one's conventions but his own and makes movies that may not entertain the masses but they sure as hell will entertain him. He writes the stories he wants to hear, and he directs the film the way he wants to see it. You gotta respect the man for that at least. Even at his worst (DEATHPROOF, JACKIE BROWN) you can't deny that the man loves the media of movie making. He is a student of the film in more ways than most people at USC film school. He is however, one of the only chosen few who can actually go out and make those dreams of his a cinematic reality.
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. A movie that isn't quite what was advertised to us. But I blame the Weinstein Co. for mishandling the trailer more than I blame Mister Tarantino. The Weinstein's would have us believe that this movie stars from beginning to end Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine in a DIRTY DOZEN-esque journey into Nazi occupied France with a group of the most violent Jewish-American soldiers ever produced, sent to deliver the fear of God into the hearts of the German. And while that is certainly a portion of this fantastic film, it is not the central storyline. The central storyline is very much a throw back to his first two ventures. RESEVOIRE DOGS and PULP FICTION. Where there are multiple threads that need to be followed and they ultimately merge together at the end and give us the larger, clearer picture of what's going on.
The main threads of the film are attatched to only a select few players. Lt. Aldo Raine, leader of the Basterds. Shosanna Dreyfus, the lone Jewish survivor of French betrayal. And Col. Hans Landa a man so skilled at his job he's earned the nickname of The Jew-Hunter.
Brad Pitt proves again to me why I enjoy seeing his movies so much. Because the mother-fucker loves acting. He loves becoming someone else for a while and getting to be either daring, outrageous, or subtle. And fuck me if he wasn't perfectly cast Lt. Aldo Raine. 99% of the anger generated towards this movie is the fact that the Basterds, and more specifically Brad Pitt aren't the complete focus of the movie. We barely see them in their bloody action, but brother the action we do see is worth the price of admission alone. Brad Pitt is amazing, and charismatic in this red-necked, back woods, solid American role. Parts of his history and for the most part the story we're watching are left ambiguous and really must be played with by our imagination. But while watching Pitt interact with everyone that he comes across on screen you forget all your complaints. If you have any that is.
Mélanie Laurent is Shosanna Dreyfus. And is Tarantino's best written female role since Beatrix Kiddo. I don't count Jackie Brown or any of the whores in DEATH PROOF because all of them were just really sloppy characters with very little thought or care given to their dialouge to begin with. Shosanna is the survivor of her family's massacre at the hands of the Nazi and has, like most Jewish survivors, a powerful reason to hate and desire revenge. Boy-howdy does she get revenge. Big time. I won't spoil it, but goddamn. Mélanie Laurent is powerful in this role. She's a very strong woman yet weak to her convictions and emotions. Denying to let herself be vulnerable but in the end letting her humanity and naivety be her undoing. She does end up with the last laugh, and it's not one that will be soon forgotten.
However, the thief of the movie. The one who stole the show, and who I pray will receive an Oscar nod for this incredible job is Christoph Waltz as the Nazi Col. Hans Landa. A sophisticated man with elequent speech. Master of at least four languages. A gentleman, scholar, and philosopher. Who is, to his very core evil beyond compare. His sole is as black as the smoke that emits from the mountains surrounding my house for the time being. His level of evil is so unnerving that when he is at his quietest is when you need to be the most afraid. Because he is as he describes himself a detective. He probes and digs, silently and carefully until he gets what he's looking for. But even he is not dumb enough to laugh good fortune in the face and tries to use his position of power to attempt to redeem himself, or, at least his actions at the end. Tries to at least. But he's never met the likes of Lt. Aldo Raine before.
This is what my list of favorit Tarantino movies would look like thus far.
1) Resevoire Dogs
2) Pulp Fiction
3) Kill Bill: Volume 2
4) Inglourious Basterds
5) Kill Bill: Volume 1
6) Jackie Brown*
7) DeathProof*
The best way to get enjoyment out of this, is to go in and don't expect an action flick in the same way that the KILL BILL movies were. You will not be seeing any of the missions the Basterds were on previously that don't directly involve our main story. In fact, you're lucky enough to see Eli Roth as Donny Donowitz aka: "The Bear Jew" do his thing with a Louise-Ville slugger.
It's a brilliant piece of cinema, with amazing dialoug, brilliant acting, enchanting music, and a good time. I loved it.
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