A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (5 September 2009)

Tarantino's latest film about a group of Jewish avenger in WWII France is the best film I have seen in years. The different interwoven stories which the film tells in different chapters and the development of the characters are not remarkable - but the sheer brilliance of the acting, the pictures, the directing, the dialogs, the cinematic references and the original ideas make this movie a masterpiece. Besides it offers countless layers of understanding and interpretation (some controversial) - while being thoroughly entertaining.
When I am reading some reviews and comments here and elsewhere I see that the movie has one big problem with the audience: Unless you understand at least two of the three languages spoken in it (German, English and French in order of significance for the movie) you will have difficulties to appreciate and savor the brilliance of many dialogs and partly even of the acting. Being German I can tell you that the German spoken in the film is perfect and authentic "Nazi-German" in diction and delivery by the superb cast. BTW, I always thought that the problem of not having many good German movies was the lack of good German speaking actors. Tarantino proves that I was wrong.
Christian Waltz's Oscar-worthy performance as "Jew Hunter" SS Colonel Hans Landa is as good as Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland" and as frightening. Landa's character as well as the acting of it outshines the other characters a little bit, still, the rest of the cast is superb: Denis Menochet as cool French dairy farmer in the opening scene, the beautiful Melanie Laurent as close lipped Jewish-French movie theater proprietress who is not succumbing to the youthful charm of Daniel Brühl as German war hero. Noteworthy also August Diehl whose performance is as convincing as Waltz's as evil SS officer. The only exception is Diane Kruger as German movie diva whose acting and especially German articulation are a little bit amateurish although her German-accented English is very convincing.
This leaves us with the eponymous heroes: Whereas the rest of the characters seems to be more or less drawn from "real life" the Inglorious Basterds are depicted (not literally) as Comic figures. And the cast delivers: Brad Pit as determined hillbilly Lt., Eli Roth as the angry "Jew bear", Till Schweiger as gloomy killer and the rest are overacting with relish - but this brings a humorous touch to the movie and an important detachment from the horrible reality of WWII.
I should add that this is by no means a historic movie or even a war movie. For all perfection in the use of language, costumes and scenery: The history is only the background for the artist not his aim.