Cannes darling Quentin Tarantino is back at the helm again. It’s no surprise then that in his latest project we are privy to yet another thrilling, gore-filled ride as seen through the eyes of one of the strangest cinephiles in modern cinema.
It’s basically a story broken down into a series of French New Wave-esque chapters. It follows three intertwining stories packed full of characters that are hell bent on Killing Nazis. The result surprisingly, is a damn good yarn that is easy to access and easy to follow, though at times extremely difficult to stomach.
Some stand out performances by Pitt as Lt Aldo Raine, Roth as the bear Jew and Lauren as Shosanna Dreyfus are mesmerising to watch. Actors of this calibre rarely get the opportunity to spread their wings and embody such full and vibrant characters. Far and away the greatest asset in this ensemble cast is the character of Col. Hans Landa played by Christoph Waltz . This sociopathic ‘Jew hunter’ is as dark and menacing as Bales’ Patrick Bateman in American Psycho or Nicholson’s Jack Torrance in the Shining, but the incredible difference in this character is his enduring humanity. Whilst being repulsively ruthless Waltz still manages to endear himself to the audience through lashings of charm, charisma and cream on his German strudel.
Walking out of the cinema last night it would be remiss of me to ignore the fact that I was indeed moved by Tarantino’s first foray in the war genre. Whilst I didn’t leave the cinema asking for more, I did leave feeling that I had shared in quite an incredible cinema going experience.
Whether Tarantino’s latest is genius or schlock I can’t decide. This is far and away his best work to date; the masterful direction in those scenes with lengthy dialogue is some of the best I have ever watched. However an indulgent screenplay and unnecessarily ultraviolent scenes rob the film of its dues. Great directors hold a mirror up to society and force audiences to look at themselves. Tarantino always seems to angle that mirror straight into the Video store from whence he came, merely to show us all how much he loves cinema. Inglorius Basterds is no different, thick on homage, thin on insight.
You can watch the official trailer HERE
Reviewed by the Grumpy Sailor
Mr Sailor,
I just returned home from watching it – sadly, I couldn’t wait to comment.
Not often do I sit through nearly 3 hours of film and not look at my watch, or wonder how much longer it’s going to take to tie this one up – with I.B, I was line and sinkered.
I was rehearsing what I wanted to say the entire way home, but I can tell now, I’m going to babble. Never mind.
What I love about Tarantino, is that he does so well at calling the audience’s bluff. And he does this so well throughout this film. He does exactly what the audience thinks he wouldn’t dare do. I expected it to be non-stop blood and guts after what I’d heard, but not so. Gory, yes. but over the top, no. I think he struck a perfect balance of anticipation, shock and realism.
One of the great things about this film, in my mind, was that Pitt’s performance was overshadowed by others. Not to say that his was poor – it wasn’t, he was great – but to say that Waltz’s was phenomenal! I couldn’t agree with you more. How he managed to be more evil than Hitler himself in this film, yet still make me warm to him, I will never know.
This film was clever, multidimensional, and Tarantino-esquely cheesy. Maybe I risk building it up too much for others, but who cares, I’ve seen it.
I like your moves Mr Sailor.