Rambaran’s Log

Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France…

Although Inglourious Basterds has moments of greatness, the sum of its parts does not make the film a masterpiece.  This was supposed to be Quentin Tarantino’s directorial chef-d’œuvre, as its been in development for over ten years.   Instead, Tarantino’s latest work  remains a very good movie that will be appreciated more by his fans than mainstream audiences.   Inglourious Basterds begins in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich.

If you’re a Tarantino fan, you will enjoy the lengthy conversation set pieces, a staple of his productions.   However, in past films the conversations were light and funny.  In this film, everything is filled with tension.  So much so, you can cut it with a knife.  That’s what I enjoyed about Basterds.  The tension building moments between characters.  You have little inclination as to where things are going, and that captures your attention.  So, what didn’t work in this movie?  Well, I was expecting to see more of the adventures of “The Basterds”.  Instead, I got their intro which is in the trailer and then we hop to a few years later on a tangent storyline.   I would have liked to see more of the Basterds adventures, and the development of the characters in the unit.   Instead the focus is on the secondary characters, which is still quite entertaining.

Now for the performances.   Yes, Brad Pitt is a lot of fun as Aldo, but the real star of this film is Christoph Waltz who plays the villainous Nazi Colonel Hans Landa.  Waltz’ performance is captivating.   I was absolutely blown away by this German actor who commands the screen at every turn.  Its a real treat.  Final verdict: Inglourious Basterds is a very good movie, but not the Tarantino masterpiece everyone was expecting.

You should see it if:

• You like Tarantino movies (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill).
• Don’t mind subtitles (The international cast speak in their native language [french/german]
• Have an open mind for something different from the mainstream Hollywood films.

You should avoid this film if:

• You are squemish to serious acts of violence.
• You get bored easily if something doesn’t blow up every ten seconds (go, Michael Bay!)
• You can’t read.