Story with almost no structure, but a lot of cohesion

Rating: Null/10 (12 January 2016)

Quentin Tarantino's magnum opus and a film that inspired countless imitators. A film that is one of those everyone knows intimately, without ever having seen a minute of it. A film where four completely separate tales intertwine as their characters go on about their criminal, immoral lives.
To talk about the story or the plot would be foolishness. You cannot really explain it in any meaningful way without spoiling it completely. Besides, you already know approximately how it goes. If, however, you're young enough or hermit enough that you don't know, I can at least try my level best. It opens with two low-end robbers sitting in a diner and talking about their next gig. As they stand up to put their plan into action, we cut to two completely unrelated dudes talking about the differences between fast food product names in different countries. Doesn't sound that riveting, but it strangely is. The two dudes are gangsters. Hit men on their way to lay some vengeance on some unhappy souls.
The real genius of the film starts to reveal itself when these stories start to intertwine. Suddenly one of the gangsters meets the boss's wife from another story or the boxer is actually working for the same guy the two gangsters are. The stories are also told out of order, bringing a whole new level of meta knowledge to the viewing experience. One of the best examples of storytelling I've ever seen on film.
I also really like the inconsequential scenes. Like the talk about burgers in the beginning or the taxi drive the boxer takes after his last match. The latter scene adds absolutely nothing, except perhaps deepening Butch's character a little bit, but it's such a great scene that I don't want it to be cut away. The taxi driver, Esmeralda, is such a captivating character. Almost like the protagonist of a completely different movie suddenly wanderer into this film. And they're all like that. They don't add a lot to the plot, but they're absolutely necessary for the style, the mood and the texture the film has.
Pulp Fiction is a great film. One of my all-time favourites. It's one hundred percent Tarantino and is one of those films you can watch over and over and still find something new you didn't notice before or had already forgotten because the film is so full of details to appreciate. It is violent and gory, and certainly not for the squeamish, but it's also lethally charismatic and suave. Just like a gangster film should be.