Continuing the gathering of previously written reviews of films that I either loved or loathed in 2009, the following is a piece originally written August 23, 2009.
"INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS" Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino
**** (4 stars)
Back in my childhood when I was devouring a hefty collection of Marvel comics, I remember a strange series entitled “What If?” The idea behind this series was to create an alternate reality to the existing Marvel mythology by having famous characters either do or not do certain acts that would ultimately derail the events we already knew to be true. For instance, one issue pondered what if Spiderman joined The Fantastic Four? Another asked what if Captain America ran for President? I found myself thinking of this series as I was watching “Inglourious Basterds,” the latest epic from the delirious mind of Quentin Tarantino.
With "Basterds," Tarantino presents to us a fever dream of a "what if" scenario: What if Adolf Hitler did not commit suicide and World War II was actually won in the depths of a movie theater engulfed in an inferno? This revenge plot is set underway by Shosanna Dreyfuss, (Melanie Laurent) a French-Jew Proprietress/projectionist of a Parisian movie theater and the sole survivor of a massacre led by the insidious SS Col. Hans Landa alias “The Jew Hunter” (played brilliantly by Christoph Waltz).
The paths of both characters will also become intertwined with the titular “Basterds, a merciless rag-tag squadron of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine (performed with expert swagger by Brad Pitt). Aldo (also known as “Aldo The Apache”) is hell bent on his mass revenge against the entire Nazi party as his crew has become infamous for acts of savage brutality against Nazi soldiers by the ferocious scalping of murdered soldiers and pummeling by a baseball bat to the head, an act carried out by Sgt. Donnie Donowitz alias “the Bear Jew” (Eli Roth). They leave one Nazi alive to spread the word throughout Europe and once the information arrives at the feet of Adolf Hitler himself (Martin Wuttke), the story begins to bring all parties together for a literally explosive climax at the aforementioned movie theater which is set to premiere a new Nazi propaganda film.
To reveal more of how all of these characters cross paths and what occurs throughout their respective journeys would only ruin what is easily one of the most original and bold examples of moviemaking I’ve seen this year, especially coming at a time where we are besieged with adaptations, sequels and remakes more than ever. The sheer orgiastic glee that Quentin Tarantino is obviously having in creating his tall tales is evident with each moment of his films and they always confound any preconceived expectations.
Take his first film "Reservoir Dogs," a bank heist story which never shows the audience the botched heist itself. The masterful “Pulp Fiction” also depicts three episodes of redemption set within an otherwise unforgiving underworld of hit men, crime bosses, run down boxers and even (gulp) The Gimp! The blaxploitation genre took a clever spin with “Jackie Brown” showing a certain maturity and humanity within a crime scam plot plus a tender story of unrequited love. And the juxtaposition of samurai epics and westerns with his “Kill Bill” saga speaks for itself in grand, high style. “Inglourious Basterds” is no exception as he effortlessly cross cuts between revenge fantasy, revisionist history and a love for cinema that often recalls the lovely Italian film “Cinema Paradiso” and the end result is a wholly original experience. It demands subsequent viewings and like all of his films, it should be studied by aspiring filmmakers.
Tarantino's writing is in a class of its own as he approaches everything with the detail and precision of a novelist. Every character is richly detailed and the five chapters that structure his movie all feel like completely realized and self-contained short stories that connect to a deeper whole. As a director, Tarantino is a master of tension and release. In several reviews I have mentioned that we are now living in a "Transformers" world. Well...to be more direct, we are living in a Michael Bay world, a director who hasn't met a primary color he doesn't like, has the subtlety of a mack truck to the skull and every single frame of his ear splitting, over-directed, attention defecit films are a climax. Quentin Tarantino just might be in a position to re-educate audiences on how to really create tension, mood, excitement and terror. For those of you expecting "Basterds" to be a wall-to-wall war movie, you will be disapppointed. Yes, there is action. Yes, the violence is sometimes quite graphic and grisly. But this film, with a running time of slightly more than two and a half hours, is a film containing Tarantino's trademark and peerless dialogue spoken by actors at the top of their respective games. There are several very lengthy sequences of characters reciting mountains of dialogue (mostly in German and French) and it may make some audience members squirmish. But, just watch what is happening as Tarantino toys with the audience, presenting situations where crushing violence can erupt at any moment and then it doesn't. Tarantino stretches the tension to its absolute limit and even then the cimactic moment is always shocking, surprising, and sometimes exhilarating. And here is where I can praise the actors on display.
While Brad Pitt has top billing and he is obviously having a ball portraying this redneck soldier, the true stars of the film are Christoph Waltz and Melanie Lauent. Waltz deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance of Hans Landa. He is extremely charismatic, conveying a politeness that travels from simply sinister to terrifying, a fastidiousness that borders on prissiness and a patience that unnerves his victims to their core. (A sequence where he is interrogating another character in a crowded restaurant while eating a strudel is one of his most memorable scenes in a film filled with them.) Waltz handles all aspects to this larger than life character with high finesse. It should also be noted that Waltz speaks in flawless German, French, English and Italian throughout the film and this trait also assists to make the character endlessly unpredictable and deeply frightening.
Laurent is the equally larger than life yet unassuming femme fatale of the piece as well as being one more woman in Tarantino's increasing collection of heroines one should never cross. Her somewhat small frame makes her an opponent one might underestimate but her eyes show the rage inside as she uses her own sense of tunnel vision to avenge the murder of her family in the film's opening massacre. You are with her every step, rooting for her the entire time.
In an interview while making "Kill Bill," Tarantino expressed that he tends to be a lazy indivudal by nature and that the task of making movies is extremely hard work. Because of that, and his love for film, he doesn't want to watse any opportunity given to him and he desires to make every moment a GREAT moment. I wish that level of commitment and love for cinema would rub off on all people who are in the fortunate position to be making movies. Who knows what the end result would be from viewer to viewer, but the desire and the intent is evident and cannot be mistaken. The world of film is lucky to have Quentin Tarantino and "Inglorious Basterds" is one of my favorite films of the year.
But I do have to say, after now three films dealing with a vicious revenge theme, I cannot help but wonder who may have crossed Tarantino in his past and is that person still with us today? Just wondering.
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