For my film review, I chose to review the film Inglourious Basterds. The film was made in 2009 and is directed by Quentin Tarantino. Several major actors are Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, and Michael Fassbender. The movie revolves around two separate protagonists, the Inglorious Basterds, and Shosanna Dreyfus attempting to sabotage and kill Nazi Germany’s political leaders. The setting is in Nazi-occupied France towards the end of WWII. The story is told over 5 chapters in which the two plots prompt the reader to develop a hatred for the Nazis, a love for Shosanna and the Inglourious Basterds, and excitement for the resolution.
Quentin Tarantino shows his cinematic genius with beautiful scenes of the French countryside, the city landscape, and the damp cellars. I watched the movie 3 times in the comfort of my home with different people who all enjoyed it. The movie played with my heart as I felt compassion for Shosanna and her family, my heart raced through the introduction of “The Bear Jew,” and sat inches away from my couch for the sabotage scene. The movie also had my mind racing as the Nazi Colonel Hans Landa interrogates suspects and discovers the plans of Shosanna and the Inglorious Basterds with keen detective work. The soundtrack fits very well into the movie and enhances the emotions of the viewer throughout the film with its energizing rock snippets and gentle classical pieces.
The film makes great use of cutscenes and flashbacks as well as plot twists. Various members of the Inglourious Basterds like Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz and Staff Sergeant Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz. The personality of both characters is portrayed during scenes where Sgt. Stiglitz’s history as a Nazi mutineer is shown with him assassinating several Nazi generals and Sergeant Donowitz’s ruthless interrogation tactics force Nazi soldiers to break down into tears and give away invaluable information about their comrades in seconds. The actors also perform spectacularly as Brad Pitt and his squad of jewish soldiers wins the viewer’s heart through bravery, humor, and wit. Christoph Waltz casts a deep hatred and disgust for Hans Lanza into the viewer with his creepy tone and personality, hawk-like observation, and obscenely anti-semitic rants. Melanie Laurent portrays her character Shosanna Dreyfus as a struggling and parent-less jewish girl living incognito in Nazi-occupied France who is bent on revenge for her parents’ killer. The directorial, musical, and acting choices combined make the movie a truly moving experience that completely immerses the viewer into the movie as if he or she is really there.
Quentin Tarantino makes an interesting decision to make Shoshanna’s lover a black man in the movie, which emphasizes the struggles of the two mainly oppressed peoples under German regime. This not only adds an interesting twist to the plot but also emphasizes the struggles and problems of the population under fascism. The fact that all of the members of the Inglourious Basterds are Jewish Americans adds the impression of sweet revenge and complete devotion to the company and their mission, which they explicitly show in the end with a final act of fearlessness and martyrdom.
Additionally, the film includes several intense action scenes with slow motion and funny commentary that glorifies the Inglourious Basterds (pun intended) and displays the heroic bravery and strategy of Shosanna. The outfits of the characters in movies have great significance since they are one of the things that the viewers notices first. The costumes in this film are superb and represent the fashion of the time while also illustrating the various economical statuses of the different figures in the film. The Nazi uniforms paint the Nazis as cold hearted and are decorated with medals that the Inglourious Basterds attribute to murdering Jews as Sgt. Donowitz asks a Nazi general “You get those for killing jews?”
The only aspect of the film I disliked was the annoying recurrence of Frederick Zoller and his bleak and sometimes embarrassing attempts at swooning Shosanna through gentlemanly acts and boasts of military heroism. I remember laughing when Shosanna realizes that Zoller is a war hero to the German army and rejects him coldly. The various scenes where Frederick unsuccessfully tries to impress or seduce Shosanna recur throughout the bigger half of the movie and elicited uncomfort and impatience as I itched to skip ahead in the movie and avoid the awkward situations that I felt like I was being forced to be part of. However, Zollers pitiful attempts are forever squelched at the end of the movie with an intense turn of events where Zoller is rejected for the last time, very harshly.
I had a great experience watching this film each of the 3 times as I noticed different aspects to the characters, their charismas, and foreshadowing hidden in small details. The movie also moved me emotionally as I teared up when Shosanna loses her parents, shouted “YES” in triumph at the success of the Inglourious Basterds various guerilla operations, and sighed “Aww” during romantic scenes between Shosanna and her lover Marcel. I would recommend this movie to anybody over the age of 18 because of inappropriate words and gore due to its good plotline, beautiful scenes, charismatic characters, and powerful action.
These Images show SS Colonel Hans Landa and his intimidating glare (left) and Shosanna sharing an awkward confrontation with Zoller (right)
2 thoughts on “The Brave, The Classy, The Remarkable Inglourious Basterds”
Inglorious Basterds is one of my favorite films, and I really liked your in depth analysis of characters. I agree that the strength of this movie lies in the development of its characters and their background stories. The historical context is extremely important in this film as it takes place in a very real time in history. The context applied to the characters, such as their religious/ethnic background, is very important for their development and the development of the revenge theme. I also agree with your dislike of Frederick Zoller, when I watched this movie I found myself hating him more and more each time he appeared. However, it is very enjoyable when Shosanna gets her revenge on him. Overall, I agree that this film is stunning in its details ( the soundtrack/score and costume design) as well as overall plot and character development. I feel as though your review really captures the important themes and ideas in this movie and touches upon details that I have not noticed since I have only viewed this movie twice. It is true that this movie gives more and more to its audience with each viewing.
Having never watched the movie, I found this review to be really informative just based on summarizing enough of the movie so I can get a slight understanding of what was going on so that I could follow that analysis. In general, I feel that Tarantino gives a humorous feel to movies in action scenes that did not need it. For example, in Django Unchained, the scene towards the end in the mansion where everyone dies was definitely too much and I felt took away from the movie itself, as it was pretty serious. However, I think you made it feel as though Tarantino’s humorous style worked well with this movie. Also, I really liked your analysis of how the recurrence of the one character, Zeller, really detracted from the film as a whole. I agree that generally, when watching movies, I dislike very cringy/ embarrassing scenes and usually like to skip over them.