A fantastical, imperfect, unapologetic, and totally Tarantino period piece

Rating: 8/10 (21 August 2009)

Inglourious Basterds really defies description. Like other films by Quentin Tarantino, the film revolves around a plethora of characters. There's the titular Basterds, a Jewish American gang of soldiers lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), who administer their own brand of justice to the Nazis they cross behind enemy lines. It also concerns Shoshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), a Jewish survivor hiding out in Paris as a theatre owner. And at the same time, the film mainly revolves around Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), nicknamed "The Jew Hunter" for his habit of rooting out the Jewish people in France for the S.S.
Although Kill Bill was quite the bloody epic, Inglourious Basterds is his first true epic film in the sense of grandeur and scale. It is a fantastical period piece, combining his trademark dark humour, his great use of music, his adoration for homage and his love for blood soaked visuals. Make no mistake: this film is just as violent as every other film he has worked on. Look no further than when the "Bear Jew" Sgt. Donnie Donowitz (Eli Roth) makes good on a promise to kill a German official with a baseball bat to know exactly what I mean. From the moment the film opens up, Tarantino truly makes us believe we are seeing his vision of Nazi-occupied France in the early 1940s. When we are not listening to long conversations or watching people get killed in ways only Tarantino could have imagined, you may find it hard to believe that the film is a Tarantino one. The cinematography, set and costume design is just so well done that it almost feels like an epic in the proper sense of things.
But being a Tarantino movie, he turns that epic convention on its head and creates his most original work in years. While the man has always been of a different cut than most American filmmakers, Inglourious Basterds is unapologetically different from any other World War II film ever made. For one thing, Germans actually speak German, and the French speak French. Subtitles are almost non-existent in most war movies, and here they are on display for more than half the movie. Sure, there are a few historical inaccuracies, but the film relies on a style all its own. In more than a few instances, it is a historical epic that aims to tell the story of a large group of individuals in World War II era France. But then it also combines in the wit and bravura of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs to become something altogether different. It comes off as pure fantasy in some cases, but in others, it works to make it infinitely more watchable. I find myself hard pressed to think of a war film that ever looked or felt anything like this one did.
What brings the film down, and has always been a problem for Tarantino, is how winded some of the conversations get. Going in, you know that the film will be a very talkative picture, but some scenes (especially one lengthy scene in a village bar) just go on far too long for their own good. He got the formula down perfectly in Pulp Fiction, but ever since, has had a lot of trouble with brevity in his speeches. Inglourious Basterds is no different, and sadly, drag the film out a bit longer than it should be. This film could have been a lean and mean epic that runs just over two hours; it does not need to feel like it is thirty minutes short of three. The exchanges are always entertaining, but you can easily spot where some cuts could have been made. I loved the dramatic tension in suspense in almost all of these scenes (especially the opening scene introducing us to Landa), but a bit of a chop here and there could have only made them look greater.
What is immediately more impressive are the characters. Having such a diverse and large cast does lead to some characters being nowhere near as developed as others, but that seems to be okay for some.
Pitt is quite good as Raine, bringing what is essentially a tailor-made Tarantino bad ass to life in a way he cannot always pull off. He felt like a more subdued version of Tyler Durdan, albeit a whole lot more sarcastic. He spends the majority of the film as an enigma, ordering the Basterds around but from an arm's length away. Roth on the other hand, dives headfirst into what is one of the most daft and twisted characters Tarantino has ever created. This is a true headcase, and Roth is clearly perverse enough to make the "Bear Jew" work in ways that no one could (especially not Adam Sandler, who supposedly was the original actor up for the role). But sadly, none of the other Basterds really get a chance to shine (although all of them are good nonetheless), and even Pitt and Roth's work is sorely underwritten.
The most fleshed out and most extraordinary work comes from the relatively European-centric Laurent and Waltz. Laurent is both subtle and heartbreaking in her role as a Jew continuing to hide from the Germans. Her work is just as powerful as it is devastating. With the exception of The Bride, she is Tarantino's most fully realized female character. Waltz on the other hand, is simply marvelous. He is the heart of the movie. While he is not as disgustingly evil as Roth, his devilish undertones and intense "What comes next?" delivery is as nerve-wracking as it is frightening. His horrific atrocities go mostly unseen, but his eye-opening facial expressions are more than enough.
Inglourious Basterds is flawed, but it is still a great effort on Tarantino's part. He reinvents himself in a way, and shows his maturity as a filmmaker. A touch less talking could have only improved the film.
8/10.