Tarantino mixes war and spaghetti western genres to create a masterpiece, writes PIERCE HUNT
QUENTIN Tarantino is back to his best with the phenomenal Inglourious Basterds. In the initial stages of the German occupation of France, a young Jewish girl, Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), manages to escape Nazi gunfire as her family are executed
when hiding under the floorboards of a neighbour's dairy farm. Narrowly avoiding death at the hands of Col. Hans Lander (Christoph Waltz), she flees to Paris and begins a new life with a new identity.
As the Nazis step up their numbers in France, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) is training a crack team of Jewish American soldiers - affectionately known as the Basterds - to bring him the scalps of 100 Nazis each.
In this Second World War fable, hilarity sits side by side with action and tragedy. There's no doubting that the film is dialogue heavy, but whereas Tarantino's 2007 offerings Grindhouse and Death Proof were packed with action, Inglourious Basterds stacks up the substance with a proportionate amount of blood and guts.
Several years pass and Shosanna is running her own cinema in Paris. After begrudgingly befriending a German soldier, Fedrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), who turns out to be a huge film star in Joseph Goebbel's school of propaganda films, she is forced to accept when asked to host the premiere of his new
film with the Third Reich hierarchy all set to be in attendance.
As the news spreads that all Nazi leaders will be in the same place at the same time, the Basterds team up with an undercover German film star, Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger), who all dream of taking down the Third Reich from the top.
Both Shosanna and the Basterds have their targets set, but it proves tough for both parties to implement the catalogue of destruction they wish to inflict.
The Basterds' build-up to the event is colourful, with several touch-and-go moments where their cover appears to have been blown.
Bad penny Col. Lander is still sniffing around on the fringes and, as he is in charge of security for the film premiere, he is going through every single detail with a fine-toothed comb.
Brad Pitt is hilarious as the no-nonsense Tennessee lieutenant - his attempt at Italian with a painful southern twang is priceless.
His approach is simple: kill as many Nazis as possible. And as the film progresses, his mission statement is upheld with aplomb. Fearing nobody and continuing to uphold his values and ideology, Lt
Aldo Raine wins as many fans as he does foes. But when it comes to ticking the comedy, brutality and cold and calculating boxes, Christoph Waltz is head and shoulders above everyone on screen. As the lead antagonist, his meandering speeches and interrogations skirt around each individual as if they are children. (ie He knows they are lying, but it's a matter of time before they are caught out).
It's no wonder Tarantino's eyes lit up as soon as Waltz walked into the room during his audition. And he even admitted that he would've pulled the plug on the whole film if the perfect actor for the role wasn't found.
Inglourious Basterds is a must-see film, even if it's just for the five minutes with Mike Myers as British General Ed Fenech - one of the funniest scenes in the whole film.
It may be historic fantasy, but the entertainment value will be hard to beat this summer.
