Inglourious Basterds

It is Quentin Tarantino’s meticulous attention into every minute aspect of his craft that makes me such a fan.

To me, his movies are more than just movies. They transcend all boundaries and become a complete and total package. Every nuance of his actors carries a profound Tarantino influence. Every word of that glorious dialogue that peppers all his movies always leaves a lasting impression years after a film’s release.

And here we are. Inglourious Basterds (SIC) is upon us.

The sparse rolling hills of Nazi-occupied France greets us in what is known as ‘Chapter 1′ in the film and we are quickly presented with a movie villain that defines the word ‘Nazi’. Colonel Hans Landa, so brilliantly played by Christoph Waltz, oozes gregarious sinister spunk and is indeed – evil personified. Meticulous in presentation, blessed with multilingual skills and sheer cunning he is a known as ‘Jew Hunter’. Behind the smile and immaculate presentation (geez, the Nazi’s had the coolest uniforms and regalia huh?) – you just know from the outset that this is one sick individual. Christoph Waltz steals nearly every scene he is in and puts in a performance that is screaming for an Oscar nomination. Utterly brilliant and yeah, you will just love to hate this guy!

Some people might be turned off by listening to Tarantino’s characters go on and on, but I for one find the dialogue in all his films to be the strongest asset. And here in a film which is largely in subtitles, the dialogue still shines and what we have here is the best script since Pulp Fiction. And boy, is that saying something.

Brad Pitt shines as he always does. As Lieutenant Aldo Raine, with a southern drawl that almost needs subtitles itself, he is the leader of these Basterd Nazi killers who mercilessly slay each and every Nazi they encounter. There are some incredibly violent scenes throughout… baseball bats and scalping will make many wince.

But along with the violence, the dialogue, the Tarantino trademarks and such, is a suspenseful, engrossing and rewarding movie-going experience and an interpretation of World War II that has never been committed to film before.

Magnificent!