Quentin Tarantino just loves messing with history, creating his own idealized version of how key events and time periods should have played out. And I think we should let him. Inglourious Basterds is the perfect example of this, as Tarantino plays with major historical events in France during one of the world's nastiest eras. This film is an absolutely incredible alternate look at the WWII era and what it would have been like given there was a team of Jewish soldiers on the prowl killing Nazis. Containing all of the trademark violence and superbly dark humor that we have come to expect from Tarantino, this movie reveals itself as so much more. Vengeance has always been a pivotal theme in Tarantino's films but none of them have really embodied that idea more than this. Excellently written and performed by such an astounding cast, Inglourious Basterds is an endlessly entertaining story that only adds to the director's near-perfect filmography.
Once upon a time during WWII in deadly, Nazi-occupied France, a man named Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) leads a group of clever, Jewish soldiers called the Inglourious Basterds whose primary goal is to kill and scalp Nazis. When Raine finds out that some of the Nazi party's biggest leaders will be meeting at a theatre, the Basterds work together with the theatre's owner Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent) to plot a plan to burn down the theatre and kill them all. If there was one thing that I would ever want Tarantino to channel his furious rage into, it would be writing a film about killing Nazis. Which is probably the best form of catharsis possible to someone writing a piece of fiction. This really is a feel-good movie more than anything, with the hope that you as an audience member can sympathize with getting revenge on people with Nazi tendencies. Tarantino, in nearly all of his films, has vengeance of some kind as their underlying theme. He takes this theme, however, and puts it on the forefront of Inglourious Basterds, which was the greatest possible choice he could have ever made. It was such a great, if also a bit primal, feeling seeing these characters so passionate about enacting revenge on these despicably evil people. I loved Tarantino's writing in this film as well, as he converges a couple different plotlines and uses an almost prologue of sorts to deepen his story. The plot of the Basterds working their way up to kill Hitler's right-hand man Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) worked well alongside the plot of Shosanna getting revenge on Landa because of her childhood trauma. The way that they ended up colliding was basic but extremely effective screenwriting. I also, frankly, could not see any deeper meaning behind what Tarantino was trying to say throughout this film but that is exactly what makes its simplicity so beautiful. Fuck the Nazis.
Tarantino's direction in this film is superb as would be expected. While it might follow a basic, chronological structure, the utilization of the chapters and the way he paces this story is amazing. Just like usual, he takes plenty of time in each scene to establish the characters and their individual characteristics, all while providing some unforgettable dialogue and powerful atmospheres. Everything else going into the production of this film is amazing. It's difficult to find a single element of a Tarantino film that was not meticulously thought-out, but at this point in his career, he has mastered his signature breed of storytelling. The performances from the entire cast carry the plot so much too. Brad Pitt, as always, gives a wildly charming and energetic performance and the charisma that he brings to leading the Basterds is fantastic, embodying a perfect lieutenant. Every single one of the Basterds were great in their own right as well: Donowitz (Eli Roth), Hicox (Michael Fassbender), and Stiglitz (Til Schweiger) were all solid and made their characters so strangely likable. Laurent was particularly fantastic too, bringing a lot of emotion and depth to her character of Shosanna by enveloping the many years worth of rage. My favorite roles in this film, ironically, came from two of its worst antagonists: Hans Landa and the lovestruck Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl). These two played their evils in such different ways but were both excellent performances regardless. I also really enjoyed the cinematography from Tarantino's long-time partner Robert Richardson. Since Kill Bill: Vol. 1, he has been able to perfectly encapsulate Tarantino's vision in the most mesmerizing ways possible. There's something about Inglourious Basterds that really elevates it to be one of Tarantino's best. Perhaps it's because he is best at storytelling when he is either incredibly mellow or incredibly angry and the utilization of the latter makes this movie so much better than it has any right to be.
Inglourious Basterds has definitely made its way up as one of my favorite Tarantino films and this first watch absolutely blew me away. While Pitt and Waltz completely steal every scene that they inhabit, the rest of the cast works so well together that it's painful. Whether they are portraying some of the vilest people in history or the team who assembled to hunt them down, this cast paired with Tarantino's stylistic filmmaking makes for a perfect combination.
My Rating: ★★★★½
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