Once upon a time, in Nazi-occupied France...

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2009)

In case you weren't already sure, no, if you insist on historical accuracy in all films that deal with actual events, this is not for you. Same if you want an action flick, in spite of the fact that the trailers do sort of make it look like one. What we have here is Tarantino(who's *probably* pretty much completely out of his mind), one of the world's biggest movie buffs, doing his thing, an homage to a sub-genre apparently called "macaroni combat"(like "spaghetti Western"), flicks that deal with the cathartic fantasy of the Third Reich's "finest" getting a big ol' spoonful of their own medicine shoved directly into their mouths. He yet again takes something he loves, a certain type of cinema, and makes something new and different out of it, without distorting it to the point where it is unclear what the root is. This is pure Quentin... full of unexpected twists, it'll make you laugh, squirm in your seat, enjoy the tunes and plain and simple, get you involved and engaged for two and a half hours where, while you can never know quite where the ride that he designed will take you, you're assured it'll be interesting and unforgettable. There are images that will stay in your mind, ideas you can't help but admire, and lines you'll find yourself quoting for a long time. The dialog... it's absolutely incredible, always well-delivered, and the use of properly spoken German, French and Italian, having subtitles and really doing something with that was fantastic. Story and plot are great and well-told, the non-linear time-line that our writer/director masters is used marvelously as usual. This is epic and amazing. Cinematography and editing are spot-on. The acting... Waltz is beyond reproach. He deserved the Cannes win. Pitt is impeccable. Roth, Fassbender, Schweiger... I could keep going. Groth and Wuttke *demand* mention as well. Myers, I realized what he played a mere second before he left the screen. Every performance is so powerful and genuine. Over the top when they need to be(there are a lot of caricatures herein), underplayed when that's the proper choice. The suspense and intensity this accomplishes is magnificent. I urge you to avoid spoilers as best as you can before watching this, and try to forget or avoid what the advertisements show you. When this goes for it, it is nasty, violent, bloody, gruesome, disturbing, has strong language and there's also brief sexuality. If you don't think you have the stomach for this, well, you may be right. I recommend this to everyone who does think that they do, and is into what QT does with the medium. As long as you don't think that this is a realistic portrayal of World War 2. 10/10