Fave films of the century so far - 2009 - Inglourious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino's 2009 World War 2 epic starts with the nerve shredding massacre of a Jewish family and ends with a nazi getting a swastika carved into his forehead in close up, excruciating detail. In between people are stabbed in the face, fingers are forced into bullet woulds, bad guys get scalped and in one hideous moment of violence a german soldier has his head pulverised with a baseball bat. Yet for all the gore Inglourious Basterds is one of the funniest films of the decade. What's that all about eh?

The Inglourious Basterds were a ragtag group of Jewish soldiers brought together to use guerilla tactics to undermine the German war machine. Using brutal methods as a form of psychological warfare they put the fear of god into their enemy. At the same time Shoshanna Dreyfuss is out for revenge against Hans Landa, the Jew Hunter, the man who butchered her entire family.

Inglourious Basterds is a joy. Entertainment par excellence. Brad Pitt's hillbilly accent. Brad Pitt's hillybilly/Italian accent. Brad Pitt's pronounciation of 'Buongiorno' in saidhillybilly/Italian accent. Hans Landa, a brilliantly drawn bad guy played by Christoph Waltz in a role that won him the first of his Oscars. Shoshanna Dreyfuss, brought to life memorably by Mélanie Laurent in a part that does more damage to the nazi party than all the Basterds combined. It's a Dirty Dozen war film for the 21st century but it's also a paean to the power of survival AND to the power of cinema. Cinema you say? Just watch the climax. Propagand that turns into laughter in flame. Magnificent.

Latter day Tarantino films are plagued by controversy but all the trouble obscures just how entertaining his films can be when they aren't out to shock. Just watch the scene below. The Basterds have a plan to attack the nazi's and take out Hitler. To do this they rendezvous with a British Intelligence agent called Hickox and an undercover film star called Bridget von Hammersmark in an underground Parisian bar. Things do not go smoothly when an officer notices something off about Hickox's accent.

Now there's a scene with everything. Perfect acting. Humour. Fear. Tension so great the only way to release it is through bloodshed and then, whoa. It's QT's career condensed into 10 seconds. "Say auf wiedersehn to your nazi balls." What a final line.

I love this film. Best one of 2009 for me. If only it had been a true story. It's alternate take on history is far more satisfying than the real thing.

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