I've now seen Quentin Tarantino's newest film "Inglorious Basterds" twice, and I'll admit: I wasn't the biggest fan of it after my first viewing. I found it pretentious, overlong, and generally muddled. Upon seeing it a second time, however, my stance has softened. Though I'm reluctant to call it a masterpiece like some have done, it is a high quality film that packs both an artistic and entertaining punch.
There are two converging story lines in "Inglorious Basterds". The first follows Shoshana (Melanie Laurent), a French Jew forced into hiding by the Nazis, led by "Jew Hunter" Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shoshana owns a cinema in which the German plan to show a new film, and all of the important Nazi leaders, Hitler included, will be in attendance. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and his group of Basterds are terrorizing Nazis in France. The two stories collide into a brilliantly violent ending.
When it comes to screenplays, Quentin Tarantino knows how to write a good one - he deservedly won an Oscar for "Pulp Fiction". "Inglorious Basterds" also has a fine script, but there is one problem: the film is oftentimes not in English. I understand why this is, and indeed it is a necessity. But this leads to the dialogue losing some of its shine, which is a shame because when Tarantino is writing it's time to take notice. The pacing of the film for me was a little slow, which lead to it's slightly overlong 2 hours and 33 minutes. The slow pace did work well at some points, however; the first chapter, "Once Upon a Time...In Nazi-Occupied France", is sheer brilliance. The tension created by Landa's meeting with the French farmer harkens back to Angel Eyes in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" or Frank in "Once Upon a Time in the West". The cinematography is excellent ,the score is uniquely Tarantino-esque, and the direction is among the best seen this year.
The acting is a strong point in "Inglorious Basterds". Brad Pitt is hilarious as the tough Southern leader of the Basterds. His over the top accent and perfect comedic timing aid the film a great deal in terms of entertainment value. Melanie Laurent brings a fire to Shoshana to suggests she is not just a mere laday. Her reason to live is to see the downfall of the Third Reich, and when she gets the chance she shows just how tough she can be. Diane Kruger is splendid as the beautiful double agent Brigit Von Hammersmark. But the best acting of the film belongs to Christoph Waltz, who will be tough to beat come Oscar time. His Colonel Landa is just as equally a monster that Heath Ledger's Joker is, but instead of a crazed laugh full of chaos we get a delightfully pleasant smile with an undertone of evil. He is sly, clever and above all hard to resist, making him all the more dangerous. It is a sign of great acting when we come away impressed by the bad guy, and Waltz has absolutely given us just that: a villain we have no problem admiring.
Tarantino has always known how to tell a story, and how he tells it is almost as important as the subject material itself. Think of the structural brilliance of "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs". The man has an abundance of talent. While his newest film surely is fun to watch and is definitely well put-together, it is not a masterpiece. That being said, it is one of the best films of the year both in an awards-worthy and entertainment sense and should not be missed.
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