Tarantino rewrites history and that ain't bad.

Rating: 10/10 (18 October 2009)

So I finally watched Inglourious Basterds. I was a little skeptical about watching it. I hadn't seen the trailer nor read anything about the film. I also didn't watch the interviews the cast and crew gave while promoting the film. Mostly I didn't because I felt uneasy about it.
For the first time ever I wasn't looking forward and craving a Tarantino movie. I don't know why. It really made no sense.
I am a HUGE Tarantino fan. For a long, long time, I wanted to write my final paper about him, it would be almost a love letter to him I admit and that is one of the reasons I didn't.
Quentin Tarantino is one of the reasons I decided I wanted to work in cinema in the first place. I remember clearly the day I watched Pulp Fiction (1994) for the first time. It had just been released on video; I was about 11 and tricked my mum into letting me rent it. I watched it during the afternoon, after I came back from school. I thought the film was pretty cool and I couldn't believe I had pulled it off and made my mum let me watch it. There I was just being smug when, suddenly, I was hit by the adrenaline-shot-in-the-heart scene. At that moment I thought "I want to do this. I don't know what this is, but I want to make films too".
So, clearly, not wanting to watch Inglourious Basterds kind of surprised me too. But yesterday when my dad invited me to go to the cinema with him, I felt obliged to. I thought "this is Tarantino; he is one of your very few idols, so get over yourself!" And I am really glad I did, especially because Inglourious should be watched on a big screen with surround sound.
Anyway, this is a true "Tarantino". All his trademarks are there: blood baths, western references, recurring actors, beautiful long shots, the chapters, the dark sense of humour, the feet fetish everything. So if you like him, you are bound to love it. If you don't, then I guess you should consider watching it anyway.
It is a wonderful piece of fiction. I don't think I can stress enough how wonderful it is without being completely politically incorrect. So, to sum it up and try and be politically correct, Tarantino rewrites history as never before and it is I N C R E D I B L E. Visually it is a feast for the eyes and when it comes to the narrative it is even more astonishing. Plus he lets his imagination run wild and do to Hitler and his army what - I guess - anyone in their right mind would have wanted to do. It is a fantastic (in every sense of the word) imaginary revenge and it is fun, lots of fun.
Then, there is the performance and the perfect casting - and here I have to insert another ode to Tarantino: He is a great actor's director. Every actor who has been in one of his films has given unforgettable and amazing performances and in Inglourious Basterds it is no different. Not only that, but the casting for his films are always perfect. Every single actor in his films is great. They are so expressive and intense, fitted perfectly to their characters. There are no small and unimportant roles. Every character seems to deserve the best actor for it and every actor delivers the best portrayal for their character.
And no, I'm not referring here especially to Brad Pitt as Aldo Rainer. I don't think anyone is surprised any more that Pitt is an amazing actor and, to be completely honest, I don't expect anything less than incredible from him. I am talking about everyone else and particularly about Christophe Waltz as Hans Landa. Waltz truly takes over and Inglourious becomes his film. His performance is theatrical in a way without being over the top or fake. It is so astounding that once again I'm thinking about awards...
There are so many great things to say about Inglourious Basterds that I could go on for at least another 672 words. It would be easy to pick it apart and use every adjective I know for great over and over again, but I guess it is suffice to quote what a friend of mine said: "Tarantino is a genius clown and not in a bad way. What is important is the cinematographic chaos. Talk about artistic expression!" I really couldn't have put it better in so few words.