Tarantino's best film since Pulp Fiction.

Rating: 10/10 (30 November 2009)

Quentin Tarantino's last great movie was Pulp Fiction. Now, don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean he hadn't made any good film since Fiction. The Kill Bill movies, for example, were immensely enjoyable, but nevertheless suffered from the fact that it actually was one film divided – quite inelegantly, I might add – in two. And Death Proof, while entertaining, didn't even try to approach the greatness of previous Tarantino productions – in fact, the other half of the Grindhouse experience, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, was superior.
Nevertheless, I was expecting his latest movie, this year's Inglourious Basterds, with tons of enthusiasm. The premise sounded great, the cast was interesting and the trailers actually made me more excited to watch the film. I was very excited for the film despite the fact that I knew it wouldn't come to Peru in a particularly near future, but there was hope: I've been in the States for the last week – in Connecticut, to be more precise – and I had the chance to watch the film. (My first experience in an American movie theatre actually, and despite what many critics and moviegoers might say, it was a positive one.) And although I can't say Basterds was as masterful, memorable and entertaining and Pulp Fiction, it's definitely Tarantino's best motion picture in quite some time.
If there's something nobody can deny – whether you like the movie or not – is that Basterds is unlike any other war movie that has come before it. This is war as seen through the eyes of Tarantino, which means it's something completely different from the likes of Saving Private Ryan or Flags of our Fathers. Granted, it does share a theme with these productions – that war is brutal and cruel – but it presents it in a very different fashion. Besides, despite the occasional bursts of violence and brutality, the movie is full of really funny moments that made me laugh out-loud, almost as if I were watching a "traditional" comedy. A scene involving three of the "Basterds" posing as an Italian film crew comes to mind.
Those expecting action and violence will be disappointed by the movie. Actually, anyone expecting anything traditional from the movie will be disappointed. Yes, there are some "action" scenes, but these are more brutal than exciting, and actually serve to release all the tension that has been building up in previous scenes. Not unlike other Tarantino movies, this one is pretty bloody at times - scenes like the "Bear Jew" beating a Nazi officer's head to pulp with a baseball bat certainly made me flinch, and should affect the more sensible members of the audience. This might not be a pure-action kind of film, but when it shows violence, it does so in a very unrestrained, almost ironic – and certainly darkly comical – manner.
Taratino's signature witty dialogue is present in the movie, and that's precisely what makes Basterds so enjoyable. Who cares if the film doesn't contain shoot-outs, battle scenes or explosions when one can listen to Tarantino's amazingly well written script come to life. There might not be as many one-liners or witty pieces of dialogue as in Pulp Fiction, but what I liked about the screenplay for the movie was that dialogue actually served a purpose; it wasn't simply there for Tarantino to show off. It either moves the plot forward, presents or further develops a character, or simply builds up tension to eventually explode in a very violent sequence. There certainly are a lot of very memorable talky scenes in Inglourious Basterds, and although all this talking might slow down the movie a bit – especially during the second act -, it certainly didn't cease to entertain me. I do understand if some members of the audience get bored, though – after all, the movie isn't for everyone precisely because it's so different.
Performances are excellent all across the board. Although Brad Pitt's performance as Raine has been maligned in some circles, I personally found him to be truly excellent. He is funny, he is charismatic, and even a little crazy. (His Southern accent is pure genius.) Eli Roth is surprisingly good – make sense that the creator of the Hostel movies gets to play a sadistic basterd who enjoys torturing people – and Diane Kruger is sexy and classy, but the real standouts are Melanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz. The former manages to turn her character into the most fleshed-out and interesting one – as well as the most serious one – while the latter oozes malice and shows that not all Nazi villains in Hollywood movies have to be caricatures. This is a very smart, very cunning kind of Nazi, not the kind you find in movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, for example.
Inglourious Basterds is a superb motion picture, but it definitely isn't for everyone. Although it can be many things – hilarious, touching, exciting, surprising – it might turn some people off with its graphic depiction of violence and its very dark brand of humour, but for people who enjoy this kind of thing – and especially for those who know what to expect from a Quentin Tarantino film -, it should be a highly enjoyable experience. Just don't expect a cookie-cutter, predictable World War II movie – suffice it to say that Tarantino doesn't mind re-writing history himself, and although this might sound as an insult towards the movie, if you actually get to see it, you'll understand what I mean by this, and you will also understand why it works so beautifully.