Glory to the inglorious!

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2009)

every once in a while, one sees a work of art being portrayed on the cinema screen - and it is so intense, that one does not realize how much time has passed absorbing it... This is exactly what happened to the 4 of us who went to see the Inglorious basterds tonight. It was a 10pm show & we realized it was 1pm after we came out!!
The Inglorious Basterds is not a typical Quentin movie..in fact its a Bollywood style movie that beats Bollywood movies black & blue by simply concentrating on one simple thing: attention to detail ....
Its a simple screenplay that Quentin would have ripped from any Bollywood movie - action, love, war, thrill & loads of comedy - all of that combined! But the mastery of the director lies in ignoring the story completely!! Yes, truly that is what happens - I did not care whether the story would go one way or the other! What I craved for with each longing moment was the dialogues & depth of scenes... The complete narration is held together by 7-10 scenes, but each of this scene is brilliantly composed - each speck of dust & each monosyllable, each movement by the actor / actress contributes to the moment in the scene... If you miss the smallest of gestures, you are bound to be left confused.
Now, I've heard somewhere that it took Quentin 12 years to write the complete screenplay. I can only imagine how he must have perfected each of these scenes by playing them over again & again in his mind - polishing each moment - each nanosecond of the movie. I was left not only breathless with wonder, but also hoping that the movie would never end- even after 3 hours of playing time!
Coming to the director's attention to detail - each word spoken by the actor is made to work hard along with physical movements, music & photography in order to contribute fully to the meaning. The language provides a loud charactersketch for each actor, while long climaxes (some even 2 mins long) are held together by expert movements, ever so subtle to catch the corner of one's eye, but not appear in the conscious view of the scene. All of this - together - makes the movie an unforgettable experience.
Look out for Col. Hans Landa (played by Christopher Waltz) - the scripting of the character & his portrayal by Waltz are a true work of art!
And yes, we laughed, we shuddered, we waited for the climaxes, we cheered the action - in short we did it all!!! Final word, go see it for yourself - though some of you would dismiss it as stupid... & yes - BEWARE - there isn't any story!!