Inglourious Basterds

Apparently I am one of the few people who didn’t enjoy Quintin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009). I am not a big fan of his films to begin with. This is another piece of genre blending filled with cinematic references, particularly to Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, what with the opening words, “Once Upon a Time ... in Nazi-Occupied France,” dramatic music based on the theme of “Für Elise,” a panoramic shot of the French countryside, then a close-up of a man’s face. I’m already annoyed. The various plots are frightfully contrived and the dialog is too smart for its own good. For no good reason, we get other references to WWII films, like Where Eagles Dare, some unnecessary Marvel Comics lettering, unwelcome voice-overs, Edith Piaf, Marlene Dietrich, Leni Riefenstahl, Max Linder, and on and on. The main story is an indulgence in an alternative reality, there are jokes about situations that aren’t funny, there is no moral core, violence is a means to solve problems, and Jews perpetrate atrocities as awful as their enemies. The characters remain flat – Brad Pitt’s First Lieutenant Aldo Raine is particularly distracting with his faux-Tennessee drawl jabbering about Nazzies. The only redeeming quality is Christopher Waltz’ performance as SS Colonel Hans Landa, who is fluent in German, French, English, and Italian, and has a knack of making polite conversation even when he’s interrogating. In brief, the movie is about two plots to eliminate the German high-command, including Hitler, Goebels, Göring and Bormann, while they attend a premiere at a Parisian cinema theater. And apart from Alder carving a swastika in Landa’s forhead, that’s it. The End. History has been rewritten.