Director Quentin Tarantino has another movie on the screen this weekend, Inglourious Basterds, starring Brad Pitt. But the real star of this movie is - the movie!
IB is set in WWII in Nazi occupied France from 1941-44. Brad Pitt leads a small, but highly motivated and effective unit that goes way behind enemy lines with one thing in mind. Killing as many Nazi's as they can for the terrible acts they carried out against mankind during the war. But at this point it should be noted, IB is NOT a "war" movie in the traditional sense at all.
IB is drama plain and simple. The plot line is way to complicated to go into here, but essentially it is the story of seemingly affable people, using all of their cunning, intelligence and charm, to do horrible things to the enemy in times of war. And they do. Toss in a plot to assassinate the Nazi hierarchy, and you have a really fantastic formula for a great movie. And that is exactly what you get.
Taratino has hit and missed with me over the years at the movies. But somehow he mesmerizes you for much of this movie with long, dialogue heavy, dramatic scenes done brilliantly by actors completely immersed in their roles. You are riveted, and kept guessing as to what is next time after time. What is really amazing here, most of these scenes are subtitled, as the speech is in a mixture of German and French. This I know is not for everyone, and it's only fair to point it out here. If subs are not your thing, then you may want to pass IB by.
We all know that the signature of Tarantino flicks is the violence, and there is some here and some is tough to watch for some. But to be honest, it's much less than I was anticipating. And when used, it was highly effective. What is also the QT trademark is the snappy dialogue, and a great sense of irony, and you get both of them here too. The great thing about IG, is that it doesn't need the violence like other QT flicks. It's so smart, so well done, it stands on it's own with no problem.
Pitt is terrific as the American commander of his troupe. He bring s realism, and a parody to his character that is very well rounded. The supporting cast is also terrific. The script is well written, with wonderful character development. This movie is one of the great surprises at the box office in a long time.
Inglourious Basterds. It's Tarantino, so it's not for everyone. But if he's for you......it's simply fantastic.
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