Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019)

Rating: 10/10 (7 November 2019)

Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019)
"Does anybody want fried sauerkraut?!"
This movie says more about American's adaptation to the memory of WWII in one line than Jojo Rabbit does in its entire running time.
Yes, Tarantino is back in form, and this is pure enjoyment. I saw this movie five times, and enjoyed it more the 5th than the 1st. Somehow 3 hrs float by in a colossally perfect waste of time. It's like a great double feature in one sitting.
Why does this nonsense work so very well when so much other stuff out these days is just nonsense? Because QT has never, ever had any pretensions to anything except his influences. He makes movies about what he loves in movies and TV. You can join if you like, or tell him to go to hell. But he knows how to have fun. His eye is excellent, he's perfectly adept, he gets great stuff out of A-list actors, he gets others on-board to join the fun, he's got great dramatic chops, and right next door to his lot trailer maybe he has a heart of gold.
Fair warning: If you don't love movies for their own sake, you may be tempted to disregard this movie. Anyone who thinks there is some sort of defect or error or problem with identify or politics or historical emphasis has no idea what's going on here. Go home, take Taika Waititi's lead and read Rilke.
The sheer orchestration of this construct is a sight to behold that rewards you for paying attention and gives you plenty to pay attention to. Light, sound, action, performances, all delivered in a fine concert.
Leo is a joy to behold and Pitt is right there with him every step of the way. If this is art imitating life imitating art, bring it on. Any many others surround and support them to wonderful comedic and dramatic effect.
It's also a minor museum of cultural artifacts. And It may be looked back upon as a proper artifact itself.
Props to QT for being a fun-loving adventurer and tour-guide in the midst of the plight of a cinematic creative class who at this juncture of the medium must mostly follow the money and gaze at their own navels.
I saw freshly minted 35mm and 70mm prints at different showings at PDX Hollywood theater, which happens to have QT as a benefactor for its 70 setup. While film is nostalgic, and these prints were the best quality I've ever seen, my eye found digi rules today. The most enjoyable presentation of the 5 showings I took in was on a big colorful contrasty screen in an acoustically perfect auditorium of 82nd Ave Century Theater with recliner seats. (Notwithstanding a minor but ongoing problem that venue has with a fruit-fly infestation.)