In the Dark – Inglorious Basterds
October 9, 2009
Genre: drama, satire, war film (?)
Tagline: Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France
Ebert gave it: 4 stars
Taratino is back at it again, and like his earlier masterpieces, this one entertains. Set in a Nazi occupied France (yeah, I know…see above?), Inglorious Basterds tells the story of World War II the way it could have gone down had a Nazi fell in love with a Jewish girl on the run, and a Lt. from Nashville went huntin’ for Nazis. After a Nazi war hero turn movie star (his story was turned into a film you see), he falls in love with a theatre owner. The theatre owner happens to be hiding from said Nazi’s boss after a little mishap on a farm. Meanwhile Lt. Aldo Raine is scalping all these Nazi’s hoping to get to 100. One film premier brings them all together, plus a few more characters – including Hitler – at the cinema. Everyone has one thought on the brain, kill…someone. Each has an intended target, however no Taratino character is flawless, nimble, or predictable, leading to a surprising end to World War II.
I hate Brad Pitt. Scratch that I hate the Brad Pitt that follows Angie and their little tots through the pages of the tabloids. I hate the Brad Pitt that makes movies like Curious Case of Benjamin Button in search of an Oscar. However, I love when he steps outside of himself and doesn’t come off egotistical or self-righteous (i.e. Burn After Reading). It seems these quirky directors bring out the best in actors. Pitt is hilarious, and it’s more than just the goofy, Southern accent. Even greater is Christopher Waltz, who plays the Nazi colonel (which, by the way, how do you get ‘kurnel’ out of that?). This guy has monologues that go on for days, yet you never get bored. Now, Ebert says Inglorious Basterds is a film, like many of Taratino’s others, that needs to be viewed more than once to properly enjoy it. Basterds is like 3 hours long, and I’m not sure that my attention span could sit through it again. Not saying I wouldn’t love to do it, because I loved this movie…I’m just not sure I have all that extra time (what with being unemployed and all).
Quentin Taratino has his way with his characters. He is able to weave plotlines and characters together in ways many directors and screenwriters dream of. He is genius. I looked up his filmography on imdb.com – this guy has written numerous scripts that all have this incredibly twisted and complicated path from beginning to end. I can’t imagine how this man lives his life…he must have post its everywhere, reminding him of what character does what and who. Can you imagine the room he wrote Pulp Fiction in? All of the splicing and cutting, reordering the plot so that at the end it all makes sense but you still sit there and say, “huh?” Someone, please, film this guy writing his next masterpiece. Or give me his number so we can date and I can just see it first hand.
From the quirky, typical Taratino, opening sequence to the historically inaccurate, though highly desired ending Inglorious Basterds is brilliant. See it once; see it twice if you want. I loved it, and so did my dad (the guy who fell asleep during Jack Nicholson’s opening monologue in The Departed – he didn’t sleep a wink during this flick). And my mom, who hates gore, only turned away a few times during the expected blood that a Taratino film sheds. I didn’t need any vodka to get through this one, but for the sake of the blog and my system we give it one flask. and by we I mean me.
