Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to re-write the history books. This is not your typical WWII Film. This is a mashing of multiple genres to create something new entirely. The end result is a picture that just feels perfect. "Perfect" is a word I hardly ever use to describe a movie. You probably have a better chance of hearing me speak fluent Spanish before entertaining such a word as it applies to film. And that's because a perfect film doesn't come along too often. But when it does, Bam! You feel it like it punched you right in the gut. That's what I felt walking out of the cinema.
Basterds is not the movie audiences are expecting. The trailers have been highly misleading, showcasing it to be a purely action driven movie about Brad Pitt and his team of Nazi slayers. There is so much more than that. The first thing that may come as a big surprise to audiences is that a little more than half of the movie is spoken in foreign languages. Since it takes place "Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France" as the title card suggests, the French characters speak French, the German characters speak German, and Brad Pitt's crew speak English... with maybe a few Italian phrases thrown in. The movie is very talky, so expect several long sequences in subtitles. Please don't let this sway you. The dialogue, penned by Tarantino, is some of his sharpest yet. Add on to that several wonderful performances by the foreign supporters. More on that later.
Something else that may surprise audiences is that the movie is Basterd free for about 45% of the film. Meaning that Brad Pitt still may be billed as the lead, but his screen time isn't what you would expect. Also not a bad thing. The stories told when the Basterds are out of the picture are vital to the story, suspenseful, and paced beautifully.
The film is separated into chapters, much the same as Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. Each chapter serves as its own little movie, each containing build-ups and plot development that come to fruition in the final chapter. And let it be known, the final chapter is damn great. Damn damn great.
In the first chapter, we are introduced to Colonel Hans Landa played brilliantly by Christoph Waltz. He portrays his villain with charisma, charm, and the ability to turn on a dime and scare the hell out of you at a moments notice. If he doesn't get an Oscar nomination, i'll eat my hat... or somebody's dog... or all the members of the Academy. Which ever is easiest.
One word to describe the opening scene: Intense. The music, the performances, the cinematography, it's all beautiful. I don't want to spoil much for the movie, but i will tell you one thing. Play close attention to Colonel Landa. He is a character who is constantly seen smiling, and when there's not a smile on his face he is terrifying. He is given the name the Jew Hunter, a name he relishes in at first, yet rejects later. He is hands down one of the best villains of late. That's him below.
The next chapter introduces us to Pitt and the Basterds. Pitt plays Lieutenant Aldo Raine, a redneck with a Tennessee twang and an unexplained scare on his neck. He leads the Basterds to single handedly wipe out every single Nazi they come across, collecting their scalps in the meantime. The killings by the Basterds are pretty brutal, so expect some violent scenes that may have you crawling in your seat. Within the group is a Basterd nick-named The Bear Jew, played by Eli Roth. He sports a heavy Boston accent and wields a baseball bat. A weapon the Germans are well aware of, and if they're not, they soon will be.
Although Pitt isn't in the entire movie, his performance is far better than I expected. He brings a level of charm and humor to his character that doesn't appear at first glance. Most importantly, he looks like he's having the time of his life playing this role. He makes the movie fun. That's another thing about this film. It is laugh-out loud funny at all of the moments it wants to be. Even some of the violent parts are so brutal and stylish that the entire theatre was laughing.
The rest of the chapters ultimately have to do with setting up a movie premiere for Germany's newest propaganda film. The premiere becomes a big event, with most of the big brass for the Nazi's planning on attending, even the master chef himself -Adolf Hitler. There is a two fold plan in store for this night. The theaters owner, is a survivor of the terror unleashed by Colonel Hans Landa earlier in the film... he just doesn't know it... although one moment where the two enjoy strudel, suggests he does... just doesn't act on it. Why? We find out later. Her plan is to lock all of the doors to the venue once the movie has started and then burn it all to the ground.
On the other side, the Basterds get word of this premiere and they too plan to infiltrate it. This leads to Pitt donning a White Tuxedo and a new language that is one of the biggest must-see moments of the film. Everything about the climactic scene is fantastic. The entire movie has been building towards this moment, so Tarantino unleashes everything in his arsenal. The music, the intensity, the pure stylish show-off Tarantino moments, all find their way into the final scene and it's perfect. Absolutely perfect.
By the time Pitt utters the films last line, I hope you're as knocked over as I was. The last line is a message from Tarantino himself that's very self-indulgent but also extremely satisfying. This is his war movie. This is the movie he wanted to make. This is the ending he wanted, and we're all the better for it. This is a film that demands a second viewing because it's almost impossible to take away everything the movie has to offer. So many good performances, so many great scenes, such good writing, and pure Tarantino direction make it worth several repeat viewings. This is a film that will split audiences. Some will hate it. I just hope more love it the way I do.
Basterds runs a little over 2 1/2 hours but not one scene goes on too long. If anything, it feels too brief. There are so many possibilities and different directions it could have taken that it's easy to believe it could have been split into two films. When the credits role, you'll wish you had more time to spend with these characters. Each is intriguing in their own right, and each has a great story to be told. We're just damn lucky this story was told at all. It truly is Tour de Force filmmaking.
Overall: 100/100 Perfect. And rare.
