"Inglourious Basterds"

Title: "Inglourious Basterds"
Released: 2009

I really dug that film "Swing Kids" (1993). Remember, Christian Bale and Robert Sean Leonard played two German youths during WWII that resisted becoming Nazi youth and held illegal swing dance parties, much like modern raves? As much as I loved it, however, something always bugged me about it. How about NONE OF THE FUCKING ACTORS SPOKE GERMAN!!!! These were supposed to be German kids, yet not one of them even had a German accent when they spoke English. Great movie otherwise.

What does this have to do with "Inglourious Basterds"? To start, over half of the movie is subtitled as there are actually German and French actors onscreen. This brings me to my second point. While Tarantino could literally have had his pick of Hollywood A-Listers drooling for a role, he did what I believe to be the right thing--he cast excellent foreign actors to play characters of their own nationality. This gave the film a much more realistic feel (as realistic as you can get for a Tarantino flick!!). In fact, other than Brad Pitt, most casual moviegoers will likely recognize maybe Mike Myers in his small role. Some fans will recognize Eli Roth, writer/director of "Hostel" and "Hostel II" and a Tarantino pal, who has a major role as "The Bear Jew". Not to take anything away from Quentin's earlier films (which starred no less then Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Darryl Hannah, Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi...), but casting outside of Hollywood works in this movie because the real-life personalities of the actors do not influence the way you view their characters. And, let's face it, Tarantino is absolutely tops when it comes to character depth and development, "Inglourious Basterds" being no exception. From Pitt's "Aldo the Apache" to Roth's "Bear Jew" to "Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz" to "Col. Hans Landa", this one is chock full of eccentric, individualistic, and entertaining characters. And that's no small feat when you consider that Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler both feature as well.

Pitt's turn as Lt. Aldo Raine is destined to go down as one of his most memorable creations (along with, of course, Tyler Durden). While "Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction", and the "Kill Bill" films are virtual quote-fests, Pitt has most of the quippable quips here. In a film where German and French are spoken as freely as English, this is not surprising. It may, however, surprise some that the film is so excellent without some of the dialogue typical of a Tarantino flick (Samuel L. Jackson's "quarter pounder with cheese" discussion, Steve Buscemi's explanation as to why he doesn't tip waitresses). This film is a perfect example of great characters that move within a stellar storyline and push the plot to a satisfying conclusion. It is a testament to the film's greatness that it keeps you engaged for the entire 150 minutes. There doesn't seem to be any fat to trim away and the film definitely does not drag in any part.

While there was a film released in 1978 called "The Inglourious Bastards", this IS NOT A REMAKE OF THAT FILM. This one is a Tarantino original. Sectioned into chapters, it is the tale of a group of Jewish American soldiers (the Inglourious Basterds) behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied WWII France whose only purpose is killing Nazis. Pitt is their commander and toes the line expertly between the campiness of his role and the seriousness of his character's conviction. The Basterds are planning to target some high-level Nazis at the premiere of a new German film commissioned by no less than Joseph Goebbels himself that tells the tale of a Nazi war hero that killed hundreds of people from a sniper's nest in Italy at the beginning of the war (the war hero actually plays himself in the film-within-a-film). Along the way, they are hunted by Col. Hans Landa, "The Jew Hunter" of the German Nazi party. As is typical with Tarantino, there are several subplots of differing importance, but they all come together beautifully at the film's climax. This one is a gem and actually betters my previous film-of-the-year, "District 9" (which was only released last week!).

Bottom Line: This one is a no-brainer. A phenomenal film with excellent acting and a devilishly clever plot. Don't miss it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Nazi scalps.