What shall the history books read?

Rating: Null/10 (3 June 2017)

As Christoph Waltz's Nazi colonel states at one point, "what shall the history books read?" is an important theme of this Quentin Tarantino movie that subverts history to present an alternative look at how World War II might have shaped up with a few unwise choices from the Nazis. The plot has Hitler, Goebbels and other high ranking officials attending a propaganda film premiere together - something that gives two factions the same idea to blow up the Nazis. As per Tarantino norm, 'Inglourious Basterds' benefits from snappy dialogue and memorable characters, but this is very much an ensemble piece and sadly not all the characters are fascinating. Waltz is excellent with his cunning interrogations and Mélanie Laurent has some excellent moments as Jewish woman living under a pseudonym and operating the theatre where the propaganda film will be shown. None of the other characters are particularly remarkable though (same goes for the performances), especially Brad Pitt and the over-the-top Italian accent that he inflects at one point. Pitt does get some of the film's best lines though, including in the final memorable scene. Add in some superb spinning shots from Robert Richardson and this is a pretty good- looking film too, but whether it has much to offer beyond its novelty of twisting historical fact, as sometimes happens in the history books, is debatable.