INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS review by Gary Dean Murray

Quintin Tarantino basically is a Fan Boy director. His movies have always had that hip, irreverent feel that the young film enthusiasts crave. His first two features, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction have become classics of cinema, movies that will be studied in film school for years. Even some of his less well-received films have their supporters. The latest out of the gate is the World War II war fantasy film Inglorious Basterds.

I call it a fantasy movie because the actual events of the war are thrown out the door, trampled on and kicked down the street like a used soccer ball. For those expecting this little gem to be based in any kind of reality, you will be sorely disappointed.

The film takes a very long time to set up its chess pieces before the attack We get a weaving of plot lines with chapter headings as each event unfolds. Like a signpost on a roadway, we are marked along to our destination.

The story opens in France, just as the Germans have taken over the country. We meet Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) a famous hunter of Jews who knows all the tricks used to conceal his prey. He talks in French, German, English and Italian with equal menace. During a particularly brutal opening chapter, he shows some macabre humor and mercy, letting a lone Jewish girl Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) escape from his clutches.

Then, we meet the Basterds. Led by Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), they are a group of Jewish US soldiers who are sent behind enemy lines with only one mission, to strike fear in the hearts of Nazis. These guys scalp their German quarry, giving a degree of viciousness to death. At times they let an individual soldiers flee, just so they can let the terror ideas spread through the ranks of enlisted men. But with each released soldier, Raine gives the freed Nazi a gift, a craved swastika in the skin on their head. All of the Germans in Occupied France wants the Basterds gone.



Shosanna Dreyfus is now a young woman in hiding, taking another identity and managing a small cinema. She catches the eye of a Nazi private who is a big hero in Germany, killing hundreds as a sniper. He's so famous that the Nazi brass have made a movie about his adventure. With a little push, our Nazi hero gets his bosses to agree to premiere his film at Shosanna's theater.

So all the big wigs will be at a central place in France run by a secret Jew who wants to avenge the murder of her family. The Basterds see a swift end to the war with every important Nazi being in the same place at the same time. But they need help from different forced to pull off the attack. The film is about the planning and execution of these Nazi officers by the side of all that is right and good.

The biggest find in Inglorious Basterds has to be Christoph Waltz as the Jew hunter. Chewing up every scene he's in, he gives a new face to terror and cunning. This is such a brilliant performance, full of fury and funny. Christoph finds every beat to the character and bangs the drum to perfection. This is easily the front runner for a Supporting Actor nod during Oscar season.

The two females are just wonderful. Diane Kruger is the German actress and undercover agent who is pushed into helping the Basterds. She only has a few scenes but delivers the self-centered pomp the role requires. But it is Melanie Laurent who has the best part of Inglorious Basterds. Her Shosanna has all the elements one looks for in a great role. She play frightened, sexy, hurt and vengeful all within the span of a few hours.



For those looking for a Brad Pitt starring vehicle, Inglorious Basterds will disappoint. Though it is billed as a big movie role, Pitt is not on screen as often as one would expect. He is fine throughout, giving some well deserved praises in a wicked role, but it isn't a starring turn. Without his name power, this would have been a supporting role at best. In this film it is the story, not the actors, that brings about the most heft.

There are elements that jar you out of the film, like a David Bowie song used in a montage scene. True events are thrown to the winds for dramatic context. But with every part that seems like a dire fit, the ending mosaic shows a full picture. It is unlike any war film you have ever seen, taking different turns and using ideas not associated with traditional conflict flicks.

There are those who worship at the feet of Tarantino just as there are those who think he is a stealing hack. I am in neither camp. If you steal from one person, you are a thief, but if you steal from everyone, you are a genius. There are cinematic references to half a dozen war flicks with The Dirty Dozen being a major influence in style. But at the same time, it comes across as something original.

While Inglorious Basterds will not be the cup of tea for everyone, it is an entertaining little bit of fluff that subtly changes the dynamic of what constitutes a war film in many of the same ways that Saving Private Ryan did. Those looking for a traditional fighting flick or a Brad Pitt 'pectoral flick' need to keep searching, but for those who want a different breed of action might want to check this one out.

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