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This is the third movie by Tarantino that I review, and reviewing his movies is like talking about a very importance chunk of cinematographic history. Especially when, one of his movies revolves around such a common and cliché topic, seen and seen again in hundreds of films. But quite frankly, this is Tarantino I am talking to you about, and therefore you should perhaps already know that he has used and transformed this topic as he does best. The film is an incarnation of the Jewish revenge against the Nazi’s, and therefore very different from any other film set during the World War II.

The movie “Inglorious Basterds”, by Tarantino, is once again characterised by the mix of influences that Italian film directors have had on him. The title of the movie itself is inspired by a movie by the Italian Castellari, called “Inglorious Bastards” (1978), and it is almost a tribute to the work of the Italian filmmaker.

An average viewer, fairly politically correct and used to his common comedy shows would perhaps question the nature of Tarantino’s movie, and how morally correct it is to mess with one of history’s darkest periods and most horrific men, Adolf Hitler. But this is only entertainment right? Or is there much more to this film. Perhaps “Inglorious Basterds” by Tarantino has only switched the side, creating some sort of parallelism, which is morally accepted because this time is the Jews attacking. Maybe it is an allegory, showing that is tolerable for the Jews be the persecutors, as we have seen with the ethnic cleansing in Palestine. However, depending to the political and moral inclination of the viewer this movie could mean a lot of things and cause a lot of controversy, but if we consider this movie for what it is, maybe we won’t find ourselves panic about conspiracy theories.

It is better to enjoy the almost two hours of this movie for what they are, a story in reverse, where the players change side and the Jews finally get their revenge, cutting of the scalps of each one of their victims. What adds to the innovative screenplay is the performance of the cast. Christoph Waltz, in the role of SS Colonel Landa, is the antagonist par excellence and is the true protagonist of the film. Brad Pitt has also offered a charismatic performance in the role of Lieutenant Aldo Raine, as he was leading the group of ruthless Jewish-American soldiers First Special Service Force. The singular performance have contributed to the success of the whole, and shows that Tarantino has set standards which actors have to meet, in order to produce the cult movies that we are lucky to experience.

This movie by Tarantino is however different; the vivacity typical of movies like “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” is not there even though the theme of the movie is very exciting. This, however, does not make the viewer bored, even though he is viewing a scene while Landa and Shosanna are calmly eating strudel with cream, although their conversation is anything but calm. It is the presence of these contrasts, where calmness and peace are suddenly disrupted by blood and carnage. We watch the two people slowly eating the strudel, bite after bite, with the same tension and attention as when we watch bullet after bullet being sprayed in the last scene on the Nazi audience. Tarantino is able to change and alter the rhythm cleverly; he can slow it as much as he wants and yet the focus of the viewer does not get lost and at the same time, he can accelerate it without creating chaos.

This is a movie where irony walks hand in hand with the dramatic, and keep the tension in the movie constant rather than relying on sudden climax points as seen in his other films. This is another pearl that Tarantino has produced in this ocean that is filmography, and like the other movies that I have reviewed, has become undoubtedly a cult and iconic film.

Image credits: http://peter-bonnell.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/inglourious-basterds-history-lesson-by.html