Film Reviews

'Inglourious Basterds'

It seemed logical for Tarantino to take his love of cinema and eventually do a remake, but it appears that all that this film takes from the 1978 Enzo Castellari film is it's oddly spelt title.

"This might just be my masterpiece" reads the final line of the script of QT's latest film 'Inglourious Basterds', which may or may not be a self-aggrandizing pat on the back by the director himself. Quentin Tarantino set up camp on the line between genius and madman a long time ago, constantly playing against convention as he makes films for one person and one person alone - himself! And it's no different here with his somewhat fairy tale account of Nazi-occupied France in the 1940's.

Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad PItt) leads his band of 'Basterds', a team of unforgiving Jewish soldiers, as they plan to assist the Allies in a mission to wipe out the German high command at a local film premiere. As their mission crosses paths with cinema owner Shoshanna (Mélanie Laurent), a vengeful Jewish survivor with a plan all of her own, not everything goes as planned.

Like 'Kill Bill' the film gets split into chapters and rifting on a Sergio Leone film from it's first heading of 'Once upon a time in Nazi-occupied France' it's clear this is a typically self indulgent disconnection from reality as any Tarantino film; at times stepping into absurdity before going full circle back to brilliance.

In the opening scene as we watch a nervous French farmer and Col. Hans Landa - played by a fantastic Christoph Waltz in one of Tarantino’s most well developed characters - a lovable yet subtly malevolent Nazi officicer nicknamed 'The Jew Hunter', it's clear that Quentin's sharp dialogue is the films preferred weapon of choice. Every line is so perfectly thought out, creating unspoken threats and provocative subtext; it's where the bulk of the excitement can be found as the shifting of power is passed from person to person. At times though this can also work against the story as word heavy conversations become overlong and begin to lack momentum. Although in usual fashion the marathon chat is interrupted by a carnage kick, most noticeably in a bar shoot out that ends in, what else, but a Mexican stand-off.

The characters are also a mixed bunch. Quentin ranging between some of his best work in Col. Hans Landa to the caricature British officer played by - a more than a little Austin Powers - Mike Myers. The casting of Eli Roth was never going to be a good choice, although he's never given enough bullets to shoot himself in the foot. In fact many characters get just enough screen time to do their required jobs before being swiftly dispatched - the Basterds themselves only appearing in 3 of the 5 chapters! More successful is the casting of Michael Fassbender who is on usual top form as an English officer recruited to work undercover alongside the Basterds.

What may come as a surprise is the level to which the humor reaches as the story unfolds, especially towards the end. Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine comes across like a gurning Clark Gable with a heavy Southern accent and Martin Wuttke's portrayal of Hitler is more comical than criminal. It’s just another Tarantinoism and if you’re a fan, you should be used to them by now.

The violence in the film has also caused some concern, but in a society seemingly obsessed with torture porn and compared to successful films such as the Saw franchise and more recently Martyrs, it's actual fairly tame in comparison. Choosing to show acts on screen instead of cleverly keeping them to the audience’s imagination is the only departure from his earlier work, but it's certainly in keeping with the tone of the film with many graphic scenes diluted with humor.

Tarantino's work has always borrowed from other films and his typical touches can be found throughout with most noticeable references coming from Italian cinema. Familiar trademarks such as the use of on screen graphics as per the square drawing used by Uma Thurman’s Mia Wallace in 'Pulp Fiction', foot fetishes which are both seductive and sinister and the pumped up soundtrack - with music all taken from other films of course.

It's clear from the off that this is a film that will never be used as a study aid in history class. This is a film all about the power of cinema and its ability to mould history at the hands of a director with the power to do so. Yes it molests history and goes against expectation, but it ultimately ends up as a unique and thoroughly entertaining movie-movie. With the by-the-book histories of films like Defiance and Valkyrie, Inglourious Basterds provides an alternative reality of perverse perfection made by a man who loves language, actors and making great cinema.

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