Quentin Tarantino. Hearing the name instantly floods people’s minds with scenes from any movie he’s done. He’s made some of the most iconic movies ever, as we all know. One of the absolute best from his filmography is Inglourious Basterds, an abrasive, stylish, brutal, and often comedic look at World War II. Many people often talk about Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Django Unchained, but I think this one is not talked about as much as it should. Out of all his films, this stands as my second favorite (number one being Django Unchained). Many aspects of this film show off Tarantino’s talent as a filmmaker.
Inglourious Basterds finds a great balance between humor, intense drama, and bloody action. The first scene is one of the best in Tarantino’s career. I still remember sitting in the theater watching it for the first-time death gripping my arm rest. I was so scared of what was going to happen next, particularly because this actor I’d never seen before was charming and terrifying. Christoph Waltz’s performance in the film starts off in the best way possible. He is a force to be reckoned with, probably worse than any other Nazi in Germany. It is well established in that discussion over milk that he is the very best at hunting Jews, and he will do everything in his power to get them. It’s horrifying. As the film progresses, I laughed out loud at some of Waltz’s scenes, either because it was genuinely funny, or I was just very uncomfortable.
The Basterds themselves all bring different attitudes and skills to the table. Brad Pitt’s character is the leader, making the battles and war itself his greatest stage. He portrays this character as someone who relishes the opportunity to be a part of the biggest war in history. Loving that he gets to lead the very best into the very worst parts of the world. He’s a lovable character with enough charisma to make the saddest man smile ear to ear. Though they might seem like a bunch of dorks, these soldiers are smart, making careful, violent decisions to succeed in the end. The Basterds represent how we all feel about awful, evil people like the Nazis. The scalping of the Nazis is an important part of the movie. It’s not only a great way to add to their characters, it also makes you think about how what they are doing will stay with them forever. These people are doing something for the greater good (killing Nazis) in a horrible, violent manner. They will always remember that they were the heroes that killed an evil group of individuals. The carving of swastikas on surviving Nazis is, of course, super important as well. The world should know you followed evil.
Tarantino does not hold back when it comes to how brutal this war was, and how we all feel about it looking back. We are all incredibly angry that the world had this sort of evil in it, and all we wanted to do was to eradicate it, by any means necessary. The over-the-top violence is typical Tarantino, but this is the best use of it, in my opinion. This anger and fury people have towards this kind of hatred comes full circle with Melanie Laurent’s character, a Jewish woman who is, part of ending the Nazi regime. A Jew burns down a theater full of vermin, while another one shoots Hitler in the face until his skin is ripped from his body by bullets. I still remember when I saw the ending for the first time, my audience was cheering. I don’t ever believe in cheering for violence, but this is quite the exception.
Inglourious Basterds
2009
dir. Quentin Tarantino
153 min.
Screens Friday, 12/15, 7:30pm @ Video Underground
