Inglourious Basterds Review from Melbourne Film Festival

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2009)

Last night I caught a screening of Inglourious Basterds as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival. Before the movie even begun, I'll say that there was a great atmosphere by being surrounded by two cinemas filled exclusively with excited Tarantino fans. A film like this is always going to be much more enjoyable if you're watching it together with like-minded individuals.
So as the trailers show, the film is basically a spaghetti western set in Nazi-occupied France from 1941-1944. The trailers would also have you believe that this is Brad Pitt's movie and that he and his Basterds are the stars of the show. However, the Basterds themselves are only one of many parts that make up the story, as there is a very large ensemble cast that all have different narratives, only linking up towards the end of the film.
One of the highlights of this film for me was Christoph Waltz as the sadistic Nazi Jew Hunter Hans Landa. You can really see why he was rewarded with a Best Actor Award at Cannes for his effort here, as he truly dominates the film. The first scene of the movie in particular, where he slowly interrogates a Jewish family to find if they are hiding anybody or anything, is truly thrilling, suspenseful and possibly my favorite part of the movie.
Violence is used sparingly, but effectively. Some of it is jarringly realistic (yes, there is some scalping) but most of it is done in a darkly humorous way. There is also a great shootout scene that is so fast and choreographed so well that it is a real blast to watch. It's not Tarantino's most violent film, in fact it would probably be one of his tamer movies, but you've got to remember who we're talking about here. When things do get bloody, it makes for a bloody great time at the movies.
Unfortunately, some things don't work out quite as well. The main thing that bothered me is that the cast is so large, that it feels like we don't get to know the characters as well as what we would like. The film is split up into five different chapters, and these chapters are generally made up a scene of lengthy dialogue that eventually leads towards a vicious conclusion. While this is enjoyable to sit through and it feels as though the dialogue is always taking us towards a relevant ending, it also makes us feel as though we have only really sat through 5 scenes and then the movie is over. In fact, despite the two and a half hour running time, I could have been happy if this movie went for an extra hour or more. Even if he split it into two films or made it into a miniseries it might have been more satisfying.
The ending was good, but a little underwhelming. This didn't leave me with the same emotional high as the ending of something like Reservoir Dogs. In fact, when the credits came up I just felt a little disappointed that it had finished so soon. However, if two and half hours go by that fast, with your eyes glued to the screen the whole time, I guess you can't complain too much. I suppose I was just hoping for a little more of an exclamation mark in the movies final moments.
The music is always a very important part of a Tarantino movie, and in Inglourious Basterds I felt it was a bit of a mixed bag. Some of it was sublimely awesome, such as David Bowie's Cat People, while some of it felt a little autopilot. For example, some of the music that Tarantino uses he has also used in his Kill Bill films. I know that the music is not original to those films to begin with, but hearing it again so recently from another film from the same director, I found it a little distracting. Then again, that might just be because I have seen the Kill Bill films so many times that I now find the music attached to those scenes. If I watch Inglourious Basterds a few more times then perhaps my opinion might change.
All in all, it was a great movie, but it wasn't up there with Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction. Still, if you are looking forward to seeing this I don't think that you will be disappointed. This is truly an event film and something that will work at its best on a big screen with a big audience. I'm already excited about seeing it for a second time.