Theatrical Poster
Disenfranchised Jewish American soldiers are chosen to be “The Bastards” in Nazi occupied France to instill fear in the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing as many Nazi’s that they can get their hands on. A young Jewish girl escapes while her family is slaughtered only to end up running a movie theater in France when the chance of lifetime for revenge is seemingly dropped in her lap. Meanwhile, “The Bastards” have a plan of their own to end the war.
Let me start by saying, this is a review for this remake only and will not be a comparison of the original film, Inglorious Bastards (1978). I believe that Quentin Tarantino took great poetic license in this remake as it is and in my opinion, this Bastard stands on its own. This film was so dark, entertaining and gripping that clocking in at two and half hours, never once dragged for me. In fact, I was so glued to this film, the dialogue and performances that bathroom break was never even an option in my mind. I didn’t want to miss one word. The dialogue is sharp and darkly funny. The film and plot are as twisted as can be and as we follow character after character, we never get lost. It all comes together in the end for a grand finale’ that is not only believable but fits the entire proceedings like a glove. Tarantino is a master at providing suspense with his dialogue and tight shots on actor’s faces and their expressions. Sometimes even just a body part shot (feet) ratchets up the tension. With great camera angles, near perfect set pieces and locations, Tarantino has created a world where history is twisted and tweaked into a perverted reality. One can’t help but praise this director for his strong stance on not letting the powers that be interfere with his filmmaking process. He makes his worlds and then stands by them for better or worse. Here we are left with what I felt was one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen in a long time. This is very much a Quentin film folks, if you aren’t a fan and find him pretentious then so be it but you would be missing out on a very sweet piece of filmmaking.
All actors in this film give virtually flawless performances. Christoph Waltz however, is downright amazing in his characterization of Colonel Hans Landa. He is at once brutal and hysterical. His facial expressions are priceless and his nastiness is really bone chilling throughout even with the humor. He goes toe to toe with Brad Pitt, the master of accents, as we know from Snatch. Pitt’s southern accent in this is dead on. This also lends a bit of humor to his character along with his facial expressions. Honestly, it’s such a rollercoaster and you want to laugh hysterically but you’ll also feel a bit guilty for finding so much humor in situations that should be absolutely humorless. Melanie Laurent must also be made mention of as Shossanna Dreyfus. She’s beautiful and you will feel every bit of her pain. She wears it on her sleeve and her face. All of these characters are so well written that you do get to know these people on their journey through war-torn France. So, what about Eli Roth you say? I know the Roth haters are firing up the barbecue pits now, ready to roast him like a pig on a spit but guess what? Roth as the Jew Bear was also very good. A testament to Tarantino’s ability to make an actor out of just about anyone. Roth has a fairly major role in this so it’s not just him playing himself as in Deathproof. He really does have to act, he’s not perfect but he’s not distracting and mostly, he really does pull it off. Kudos to the Jew Bear!
So here’s the bottom-line scoop, for fans of Tarantino, this is a must see and I don’t think you’ll be one bit disappointed, even if you weren’t a fan of Deathproof this is most certainly worth the theater view. Those who find all his film references and knowledge of cinema pretentious, well you’ll find a lot of reasons to dislike his “I’m smarter than you” attitude in here. References abound and some were right over my head especially about German cinema but this is something that I don’t mind since I was exceptionally entertained by this twisted, rollercoaster ride of a film. I’m almost of the thinking that “The Basterds” have replaced my Tarantino fave, Resevoir Dogs. By the way, The Academy better not overlook Christoph Waltz come Oscar time or I’m going to be one angry Jew broad because he is most definitely deserving of at least a nomination.
