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For years, Quentin Tarantino’s World War II movie was a thing of legend among movie geeks. Then, a year or so ago, the whispers became talks: Tarantino reportedly flew out to France after the birth of Brad and Angie’s twins to pitch the script in person—and other names, like Leo DiCaprio, Eddie Murphy, and Simon Pegg, started flying around. Tarantino’s WWII masterpiece was finally in the works.
Still, the idea of Tarantino directing a World War II movie seemed a bit…odd. How would his characters sit around a table talking about Madonna if the movie takes place in the ‘40s? How would he pull it off? Would he tone it down, staying true to the time period? Would he go over the top, turning the film into one big, crazy, bloody spectacle? Would he make it funny? Dramatic? Violent? Suspenseful?
It’s really no surprise, though, that Tarantino (being the mad genius that he usually is) decided to do all of the above—and so much more.
Set in France in the early 1940s, Inglourious Basterds is a five-part story. It’s the story of Lieutenant Aldo “The Apache” Raine (Brad Pitt), the leader of a wandering band of American Jews known as “The Basterds.” Their mission is to exact revenge on the Nazis by killing them in the most brutal ways possible, taking scalps as souvenirs.
It’s also the story of Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), the only member of her family to escape from the infamous “Jew Hunter,” Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). After taking on a new identity, she becomes the owner of a Paris cinema. When a movie-loving Nazi soldier, Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), takes an interest in her, the theater becomes the new venue for the premiere of Joseph Goebbels’s (Sylvester Groth) new propaganda piece, giving Shosanna the perfect opportunity for revenge.
Meanwhile, the Basterds have been called in to help actress and double agent Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) with a separate operation at the film’s premiere—guaranteeing that it’ll be the hottest premiere ever.
Gone are the jumpy, non-linear storytelling and the snappy exchanges about pop divas and ‘70s music. In their place: mostly-linear chapters, bar games, and long exchanges about war-time German films. Inglourious Basterds is unmistakably Tarantino, only…different.
If you’re expecting a wacky, over-the-top, and shockingly violent war movie, you’re in for a surprise. Granted, it’s still all of those things—at one time or another. At times, it’s pretty wacky. At times, it’s definitely over-the-top. And, at times, it’s shockingly violent—thanks to the Basterds and their enthusiastic vengeance (which usually ends with a rather graphic scalping).
But it’s more than just brainless violence. After all, Tarantino loves writing dialogue—and there’s plenty of it here. There are long, drawn-out conversations that seem to go on forever—but that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s quite the opposite—because not only are they fascinating conversations, but they build the tension until it’s so heavy that you’ll hardly be able to stand it. After a while, you’ll realize that you’ve been holding your breath, waiting to see what will happen. Will Landa leave without realizing that there’s a Jewish family hidden beneath the floor? Will the Allied spies make it out of the bar without attracting the attention of the German soldiers? It’s wonderfully, delightfully torturous. The longer the conversations go, the more your heart will race—until, finally, it all comes to a head in a deafening burst of larger-than-life violence. It’s bloody brilliant filmmaking.
Another part of the brilliance of the film is its casting. Pitt was definitely worth Tarantino’s trip to France—because he’s nothing short of hilarious as Aldo the Apache, the drawling, take-no-prisoners leader of the Basterds. But if you’ve seen Burn After Reading, you won’t be surprised by his comedic talent. You will, however, be surprised by Christoph Waltz, who’s positively entrancing as Jew Hunter Colonel Landa. He’s smooth, he’s funny, and he’s downright scary. Whenever he’s on-screen, you won’t be able to take your eyes off him. Really, though, the whole cast is stellar—with the exception of Mike Myers, whose cameo as a British officer is just too Austin Powers.
Following the slow and sluggish Grindhouse feature, Death Proof, Tarantino is back at the top of his game with Inglourious Basterds. Though it isn’t the crazy, violent war movie that you might expect, this smart, chatty, and outrageous creation is simply glorious.
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