Inglourious Basterds.

Tonight I went to see the new Tarantino film in Cologne with several people from the department and their friends. It was interesting watching this film both because I believe it is my first time to see a film prior to hearing it reviewed on Filmspotting in the last 18 months and of course because I saw with an entirely German audience in a small arthouse theater.

I should preface my comments by saying that though I have found his dialogue witty and his film making beautiful, I have never been a huge Tarantino fan. So, when I had read reviews telling me to expect him to trivialize the Holocaust, I was certainly wary. Certainly his previous movies have pushed the limits of decency in many ways, so this I knew would be a slippery slope.

Now, though I believe there will be many who do not understand my reaction, I absolutely loved this movie. It actually really made me come to realize just what makes Tarantino so brilliant.

First of all, he made the blood thirsty Americans out for revenge as violent and repugnant as the Nazis. I do believe he certainly made the anti-Nazi cause out to be more just, but they were no more human than the other side in their actions. Or at least I suppose I should they no more embodied what most people would define as humanity. However, I think that showing mankind is extremely capable of such things is the strongest aspect of the film. One of the first lines in the film is that the main SS Colonel we follow through the film utters is that he knows what human beings are capable of doing when they have given up their dignity. This applies to all sides. Not to give away too much, but most characters in fact find themselves on both predator and prey at one point or another ... even seemingly the most innocent and beautiful of them all.

Second of all, he of course makes the violence both poetically beautiful and horrifyingly gory at the same time. It is a testament to his skills as a director that he can make his shots so glamorously romanticize the very violence with which he is simultaneously shocking us. In fact, I used to think he was somewhat gratuitously violent, though I now feel he is just facetiously (and brilliantly mind you) showing us exactly what we as a society crave in such a way that it must be facetious. He shows us that the violence is a part of all of us, and if we want to look at it, he will show us the worst of which we are capable in the most beautiful way possible.

Third, I would like to talk about the role the cinema plays in this film. Now, I personally found it rather poignant to be in a theater surrounded by people laughing at ridiculous violence and in the end watching Hitler and Goebbels sitting in a theater laughing at ridiculous violence. The power of film and how it both shapes and is shaped by society played a very prominent role in the backstory that leads of course to the dramatic conclusion. It is no secret Tarantino is a student of film, which comes through here in more ways than his mastery of cinematography. In any case, I feel the film within the film is introduced in a completely innovative way here and is executed masterfully.

Fourth, something must be said about Brad Pitt's performance, which I actually think is really quite amazing here. His character is of course a bit over the top and ridiculous, but somehow never feels that way as you watch him.

Lastly, the film has been criticized as not really weaving together a consistent narrative, as well as for perhaps allowing one of the greatest evils perpetrated by man was trivialized by the dynamism and charisma of the SS Colonel previously mentioned. However, I have to totally disagree. To the first, I thought the chapters actually converged beautifully to this insane but incredibly interesting revisionist history that occurs. As for the second, I never once found the character there to be sympathetic, and he was only engaging in that he rather adeptly played the role of this conniving, beguiling individual. Never once however did I like him and had to actually question my own self deeply for taking a small comfort in how the film ends.

Anyway, I say go see this movie. I believe if you let it, what you see will leave you thinking long after you have left the theater.