Director Quentin Tarantino, mastermind behind cult classics like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, provides an interesting alternative to the end of the Hitler regime with his concoction of mangled history known as Inglourious Basterds.
In Tarantino films we can usually expect the smart-ass but hilarious remarks from our favorite characters, the random but epic cameos, and the cold-blooded murder done… tastefully. And this movie certainly holds true to fashion.
But because Tarantino doesn’t claim to tell the true story, it was much harder to predict what was going to happen next, and fortunately that helped the story stay exciting as opposed to hurting it. What makes Inglourious Basterds favorable is that it there is much more than just war in this film.
Tarantino presents the love triangle, if you will, between the Germans, the French, and the Americans- in regards to their positions at war during the time period, but also in regards to the personal connections each culture held to another. Mainly by language.
For instance, take the Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), who presents himself in the very beginning as a debonair and gentle man thrown into a position he’d rather not be in. He’s polite, he’s considerate, and above all else, he’s smart. He speaks German, French, English and Italian, much to other people’s dismay. We quickly see that his use of the formal French language goes about as far as the sheep’s clothing can stretch. He becomes lethal (with a nickname like “The Jew Hunter” you can see why only he would consider it a misnomer). Landa is quite possibly one of the most conniving and quick-witted antagonists of all time. Surely, Waltz will be rewarded with a Golden Globe or maybe even an Oscar nomination for this supporting role.
Next, you have Lieutenant Aldo “The Apache” Raine (Brad Pitt) who provides most of the comical relief as the over-the-top “Nat-See” killing likeable guy from Tennessee. The gang of lost boys also known as the Inglourious Basterds are entertaining, wild, and a little bit naive to anything other than achieving their objective as outlined by the Lieutenant. My favorite Basterd is “The Bear Jew” Sgt. Donny Donnowitz.
On the emotional, and more spirited side, there’s Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), the young Jewish girl turned French cinema owner, who many years before watched Landa and his men massacre her entire family. After she narrowly escaped the same fate, Shosanna finds herself courted by a German war hero who knows nothing of her past, nor of her resentment for all Germans. Her hatred runs so deep, in fact, that she formulates a plan of revenge.
A plan that sees to the end of the Hitler regime, according to this movie.
Quite frankly, Tarantino almost completely ignores what actually went down during World War II. There isn’t too much fighting here, but that doesn’t take anything away from this story. The cast is brilliant.
It is a bit relaxed on the actual happenings of the Holocaust, if not completely ignorant. The goal to entertain is met. And, although it didn’t quite happen the way this movie plays it out to, the end of the war does come.
That much, we know actually happened.
Rating: 4.1/5
