|
Inglorious Basterds (2009)
Fortunately, Tarantino's newest film is about so much more than what its marketing might suggest. In fact, the "basterds" play only a small part in this beautiful orchestration; the original working title- 'Once Upon a Time in Nazi-occupied France'- suits it much better. It's less about any specific characters (no, Brad Pitt is NOT the show stealer here) and more about the character of mass disorganization and widespread wartime chaos. Comparatively, this is a huge canvas for this director; considering his films usually contain themselves in one compact setting, and sometimes even one room, World War II is quite the undertaking. Thankfully he does it uniquely and makes the subject matter his own- though not obnoxiously so. Since his last project, the borderline self-parody that was 'Death Proof', he has gotten his dialogue back under control and I daresay he's even bettered it. It does help to have such a magnificent cast reciting it, and if the Academy is worth a damn Christoph Waltz and Diane Kruger will recieve Oscar nominations when the time comes. Perhaps best of all are the gloriously executed references and nostalgic nods to the cinema of the past, from Chaplin to De Palma, 'King Kong' to his own 'Pulp Fiction'; these are in-jokes, but they aren't pompous; unstead they, like the film itself, are a loving melting pot of all that is great about film.
__________________
|