Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" may be his greatest moment. Here is not the film advertised, nor the 'men-on-a-mission' film he spoke of for years. Instead we have a novel like World War II set masterpiece that methodically and skillfully brings together three forces and places them together for what I felt was one of the most gratuitously violent, surprising and rousing climax's I've seen in recent cinema memory. It's the kind of fever dream, rage filled thought any and everyone would have... but real and brilliant.Of course before we reach that moment we are allowed tons and tons of time to really get to know these three forces. First and foremost is the Third Reich, more importantly Col. Hans Lando played by Christoph Waltz whom won best actor had the Cannes film festival this year for this character. Waltz' nickname is 'the Jew hunter' and in the somewhat Leone styled opening scene of the film you gather why. He grins pleasantly almost every second he's on screen, which makes the few times he's not smiling much more tense as it's obvious the wheels are turning quicker thus making him more of a surprising threat. Waltz is also a very convincing man. He does on several occasions use mean other than violence for retrieving the information he had mean dispatched to collect. He crosses paths during the beginning of the Nazi's occupation of France with a then 18-year old Jewish girl Shosanna Dreyfus played in perfection by french actress Mélanie Laurent.
Four years later she is running her now dead aunt and uncle's small theater with her lover Marcel. She unwilling becomes tangled up with the inner Nazi propaganda circle which leads to what some would consider the worst thing imaginable being done in their cinema, but for Shosanna it's simply a case of the right people in the right place at the right time. And within the realms of Nazi revenge we meet Lt. Aldo Raine and his group of Jewish-American soldiers, a group that has been operating in France for years and become known through a certain urban legend like quality. The Basterds. Brad Pitt controls this character in such a way that can only be considered as memorable. He never goes too far, but never leaves you wanting more out of him. Raine is a somewhat deranged Tennessee redneck that loves the idea of putting Nazi's through as much hell as possible. Perhaps even worse is Sgt. Donnie Donowitz known as 'the bear Jew' who is given a cinematic entrance fit for a king. Spoken of as a 'golum' that beats Hitler's boys to death with a club and walking out of a dark tunnel to the sounds of Ennio Morricone's "Le Resa". That coupled with his heavy Boston accent and attention to never going too far shows that Eli Roth has now made a successful leap into character acting.
I feel I've said too much of plot points so I must now digress from introductions and speak of why this is a masterpiece. Because here is Tarantino doing what he does best, breaking the rules. War films, almost all go by a certain set of unbreakable and often unbend-able rules. Tarantino's thought? If it's plausible then it's historically correct. And there nothing wrong with that from my end. In addition to that is he still displays everything we love about his films, plus a little more. His revolutionary dialogue scenes which belong in the annals of history with Robert Altman's work on that matter are here. His love of movie-violence is here, although it's not nearly as violence filled as you would think, which makes the points in it is violent much stronger. His love of cinema is here. Even if you don't get all the references and lifts from others films right away, you might catch it on the second or third viewing which has always made his films so great to re-watch. And finally his love of characters.
Every one of these characters are larger than life, memorable and are always interesting. To a certain extent it feels like you might be able to crack open a history book and read about Lt. Raine and his homicidal posse in France during the second great war. Or read about Col. Lando's career online for a project. These characters are fleshed out in such a way where they almost feel alive. The look of this film is another big draw. The 35mm look and the lightening by DP Robert Richardson whose work with Oliver Stone still stands to me as some of the best cinema photography I've ever seen, nails the contrasts and expands the beauty that is to be seen in characters like Shosanna on the night of the premiere or Diana Kruger's introduction as German actress/British spy Brigette Von Hammersmark. And of course what would a Tarantino film be without a few of cameos... although we need not look for some of them, but you should listen.
By the time the film was over all I wanted to do was watch it again. It's a cinematic experience the likes of which you may never see again. It's outlandish, hilarious, beautiful and pure genius. This IS now the film to beat in my book on a lot of levels. Whatever you do you CANNOT miss this film.
"Inglourious Basterds" **** out of ****
