Inglourious Basterds

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Eli Roth, Christopner Waltz, Diane Kruger and Daniel Bruhl
DVD release: 17 December 2009
Rated: MA 15+

Tarantino's war fantasy

Does any director carry more weight of expectation with each film than Quentin Tarantino? I doubt it; but the one-time enfant terrible of the American cinema keeps on delivering, particularly for the true believers even if they've at times confounded others. His latest opus is Inglourious Basterds and it's likely to divide audiences once again. But if you're one of those true believers, you won't want to miss this.

Inglourious Basterds takes its title (but little else) from Enzo Castellari's 1978 war movie. Just why Tarantino chose to deliberately misspell the title is not exactly clear; but it could have something to do with the plays on language that pepper the script. But while the title may be borrowed, just about everything else about this film is unique.

The story follows two separate storylines. One concerns the exploits of a group of Jewish-American soldiers (known as the Basterds) led by Lt Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who are operating behind enemy lines in occupied France with the object of spreading fear among German troops. They're very effective at what they do, with news of their sometimes horrific activities reaching even Hitler (Martin Wuttke) himself. Meanwhile, Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) has escaped the clutches of Nazi "Jew Hunter" Col. Hans Landa (Christopher Waltz) and is hiding in plain sight in Paris as the owner of a cinema. When she becomes the object of the affections of German war hero Frederick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl), she unexpectedly finds herself in a position to avenge the death of her family at Landa's hands. The paths of the Basterds and Shoshanna will eventually cross - with surprising results.

Those who are looking for a history lesson should note carefully the opening words of the first 'chapter' (there are five in all) in the film; which read "Once upon a time... in Nazi occupied France". This movie plays it fast and loose with WWII history, but in the end, it's clear that the whole thing is a giant allegory and any resemblance to actual events is entirely coincidental.

As always with Tarantino, the film is occasionally more about other films than it is about its own plot. Tarantino references, and pays homage, to a broad range of films from the past. These range from the German expressionist classics of G.W. Pabst to the visceral war movies of Sam Fuller and just about everything in between. If Death Proof was his take on the grindhouse films of the 70s, then Inglourious Basterds is his take on the war movie.

These homages come together in the film's brilliantly constructed, chaotic and literally combustible climactic sequence. This sequence not only brings all the film's strands stunningly together but it serves to produce one of the greatest movie moments of the year - maybe the decade.

There is a price to pay for the film's great moments however, and that comes in the form of some confronting violence. Then again, this is Tarantino, so graphic violence is only to be expected. That doesn't make it any less shocking, but I don't think anyone goes to a Tarantino movie expecting wholesome family entertainment. The other perhaps jarring element is a few scenes that play rather over-the-top. The director is clearly tyring to inject some comedy into the proceedings, but it may be disconcerting to use the likes of Hitler and Goebbels for that purpose. Still, something similar was recently an element in the successful The Producers, so it may not be all that incongruous.

Brad Pitt adds another memorable character to his impressive body of work as the measured, laconic and clearly psychotic Aldo Raine. While he may over-do the Southern accent at times, he's never less than compelling whenever he's on see. Pitt however doesn't have that to himself here, being matched stride-for-stride by French actress Melanie Laurent as Shoshanna. Indeed, she and Daniel Bruhl share one of the film's most intriguing scenes. Also notable are Eli Roth as one of the most brutal Basterds; Diane Kruger as a German actress who's not all she appears and and Michael Fassbender as a British OSS agent. The performance of the film however belongs of Christopher Waltz as the outwardly suave but entirely dastardly Nazi colonel Landa. He certainly camps it up in the role, but somehow in the context of this sprawling and brilliantly chaotic film, it works (also winning him a best actor award in Cannes).

Inglourious Basterds won't be for everyone - but who would want it to be. This is a film that doesn't pander to the lowest common denominator. It's audacious and funny and bloody and bizarre. It's by turns shocking, silly and stunning. This is a movie for people who love movies and have an understanding of film history. If you're in that category, make sure you grab this film on DVD. If not, you might have trouble getting your head around this film; but I'd urge you to give it a go anyway, if only to see a truly inventive filmmaker at work.

David Edwards

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