The Case for Inglory

First, some mathematical rules around the enjoyment of Inglourious Basterds:

1) Brad Pitt = Lt Raine = annoying character = a
2) Melanie Laurent = Shosanna Dreyfuss = beautiful intensity = b
3) Christoph Waltz = Col Landa = mesmerising character = c
4) Diane Kruger = Bridget van Hammersmark = so much better than in Troy = d

So, any scene with:

1) b + c = incredible tension
2) b + d = stunning beauty (none of these though, mores the pity)
3) c + d = uncomfortable brutality
4) a + c = uncomfortable pain, in a “this isn’t working” kind of way

From the above, you may be able to deduce I had a few issues with Inglourious Basterds, mainly with the Inglourious Basterds themselves. Basically, any time they were the focus of the film after the first few appearances, they became tedious to watch, their light “comic relief” just undermining the incredible scenes and development going on elsewhere in the film.

Now, as d > a, most of the scenes with these two characters in them work, and especially where (c + d) > a. However, c <>, which is a problem in their scenes together, and as there is never a b and a pairing, I will never know which of these is the greater.

But overall, there is not much of the Inglourious Basterds in the film. Mostly, there is an incredible amount of subtitles, which may put some people off, but I found fascinating. Hearing the polyglots go mad with their beautiful and flowing English, German and French (not so much the Italian) was a treasure to experience in what is, I suppose, an American film. I don’t speak German a jot, but it was great to hear so many languages spoken so well, with the acting and action on the screen sometimes making the need to read the subtitles redundant. Tarantino films have always required a bit of brainpower to keep up with the dialogue – this time, there is also the need for reading glasses.

Besides the main Jew Hunter and Cinematic Revenge stories, Mike Myers makes an unbelievably unfunny humourous cameo (again – how does he do it?), and some Churchill, Hitler and Goebbels lookalikes got a few days work. But when the movie focuses on the more quiet agonies, the more subtle revenges, that is when it is the best. I am not altogether sure that it is "classic" Tarantino, but I enjoyed - most of it anyway - immensely.

Verdict: While the violence is very much what one of expect, the classy dialogue in Inglourious Basterds is mainly in French or German and the most satisfying revenge is best served flame grilled. 8 swastikas out of 10.