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It is not often that a movie manages to deliver unrestrained violence, intense dialogue (in four languages no less), and sincere laughs. But never has a movie tried to pack all of this into one piece pertaining to the Holocaust. “Inglourious Basterds”, the latest, and perhaps most ambitious movie directed by Quentin Tarantino, accomplishes this feat brilliantly thanks to inspired performances from an ensemble cast that goes far beyond it’s “A-list” leading role.
The movie begins in the French countryside, where a dairy farmer is questioned by the SS Colonel Landa regarding suspicions that he is harboring his Jewish neighbors to protect them from the Nazis. This scene is arguably the most powerful in the movie, as the cunning detective Landa (played Christoph Waltz) engages in a seemingly innocent, but malevolently terrifying conversation with the farmer.
This opening scene showcases the true power of “Inglourious” – its cutting dialogue provides far more terror and suspense than any possible violent action sequence. This is representative of the movie as a whole, which employs suspense and dialogue more than action. Although the movie runs long at 152 minutes, I never felt it was moving too slowly or dragging towards the finish.
The story focuses on two separate plots to take out the Nazi high command at the premiere of the latest Nazi propaganda film in Paris. The first is from a small unit of Jewish-American soldiers, of whom the film is titled. Led by Lt. Aldo Rain (Brad Pitt, with a hilarious heavy southern accent), the “Basterds” head across France brutally killing as many Nazis as possible. With the aid of a German actress who is spying for the British (Diane Kruger) they attempt to gain access to the premiere, so that they can take out some of the top-ranking Nazi officials. The second plot is formulated by a vindictive Jewish woman played by Melanie Laurent, who is hiding her faith behind a fake identity. She plans to burn down the movie theater she owns (set to host the premier) with the Nazis inside.
Though Tarantino’s script is witty, satirical, and menacing, the key to the movie is the acting. Just about every actor plays his or her part well. Brad Pitt gives a comedic and entertaining performance as Lt. Rain, and the rest of his squad also provides laughs.
In contrast, the theater owner Shosanna is heart-felt and haunting, providing humanity to a movie dominated by cruel and violent characters.
The true gem, however, is Christoph Waltz who portrays Colonel Landa in a beautiful blend of terror, comedy, and intelligence: Waltz lights up the screen whenever he appears. He delivers his lines with both playful happiness and evil charm in German, French, Italian, and English. Regardless of the language he speaks, Waltz is always the most captivating character on screen. Tarantino himself has said that Landa is the greatest character he has ever written – no small feat given some of Tarantino’s memorable characters from early 90s hits “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs”. Waltz’s performance won him the Best Actor award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Anyone looking for an intelligent, but zany film that mixes comedy and drama will love this movie. However, if you are looking for constant action, you may find this film long and at times boring, as the fighting sequences are infrequent, and not as numerous as advertised.
Others may lament the frequency of subtitled dialogue in the movie. Though it might not be as much of an action flick as many may have hoped for, “Inglourious Basterds” is a unique, well constructed, and thoroughly entertaining film that is sure to please most viewers.
