An entire Entry will be dedicated to my views on Inglourious Basterds due to the various mixed thoughts many are giving the film.

There is a pair of stories told in Inglourious Basterds, the one of the Basterds attempting to end the war and that of Shosanna Dreyfus, the surviving Jew in her family looking for retribution. The two intertwine in the concluding chapter of the movie for an explosive climax that I won’t spoil.

When viewing a Tarantino film, you can’t imagine the plot to be what you wanted. His films are inimitable in the sense that you aren’t really sure what is being brought to the table. The setup may be familiar, but how the scenes are executed is always up in the air with a fragrance of vintage. What some may see as an uninteresting or boring sequence, others will recognize it as being a throwback to films like The Saint in New York or White Lightning. It’s what you have to expect out of a man who grew up watching actors like Jackie Coogan in The Kid. Some are still in the mindset of Kill Bill in which a lot of butchery was done in archetypal Samurai form. Inglourious Basterds is not going to be a war film; it’s not the next Full Metal Jacket. It is a very imaginary manifestation of the past put together with protracted and passionate scenes. While the dialogue isn’t as quotable as Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, it’s still serviceable.

One of the unsurpassed examples is the tavern scene with Diane Kruger and the German soldiers. The conversations are comical, yet appealing and captivating. It is one of the most disquieting sequences and my favorite in the film.

The Apache theme is in attendance all throughout. The Basterds use Apache warfare tactics including the scalping of their victims. Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) is the Tribe’s Chief and hails from Tennessee, a state known for its Native American origins. The Nazis subjugated France and massacred many Jews, just like the pioneers conquered the Americas and slaughtered Native Americans. The scene in which Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) prepares herself for the opening night of the Nazi War-Hero film, she applies her make-up over her cheeks in Apache fashion. The color Red is also prominent with Shosanna. In the opening she is covered with the blood of her slain family. In the closing Chapter, she is wearing a deep red dress with plans to cover the theater in an inferno. Her eventual ending is also evident to the color.

The Americans were portrayed in an amusing, yet unintelligent tone. None of their plans, at least the ones focused on in the film, were successful without the help of the outside source. This included the surprise attack by Shosanna, to Col. Hans Landa “surrendering” himself in what is found to be the worst move he could make. The Nazi villain had to literally hand himself over for the Americans to “win.”

I found the best performances to be by that of Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa and Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus. Shosanna was full of revulsion for the Nazi Army and one can see the passion in her eyes as she sat and ate with a few of them. Col. Hans Landa was as hilarious as he was witty. Christoph Waltz totally overtook every scene and not many will disagree with that. I was wholly focused on his character and mannerisms. As entertaining as Brad Pitt was with his “Buongiorno”, I’ve got to give Waltz and Laurent the nod.

Inglourious Basterds may not be Tarantino’s finest, I still believe his unsurpassed work is behind him, but he does certainly prove that he can still make a damn fine film with that touch of Quentin-Magic we all admire. “That’s a Bingo!”