Respond/React: Inglorious B-Movie
I really didn't like "Inglorious Basterds" and it's probably my own damn fault. I went in hoping that Tarantino would turn back the clock but instead he's just made another b-movie. (EDIT: The more I think about it, the less I blame myself. This was just a bad movie. I can see people appreciating it as a collection of scenes but it was a terrible movie.)
Even more disappointing was that the usual Tarantino strengths were wasted (except for his ability to get great performances from his actors; they carried the film). In other films, the verbosity of the characters was fun and gave you insight into who each person was. What they said was interesting and what it said about themselves was crucial. In "Basterds", it seemed like it was just there because it sounded cool. I guess you could credit Tarantino for creating an oxymoron, the self-indulgent homage, but I wouldn't make that leap.
The film felt like two or three movies thrown together with the character development and depth cut out and only the violence (and set-up to violence) left in. You could cut out most scenes without changing the film and most of the film has little to do with the actual main plot.
To enjoy "Inglorious Basterds", you have to go in expecting nothing. It's a fantastical b-movie with neither heart nor soul, without point or purpose. Enjoy the performances, most of which are superb. Let the scenes wash over you; don't expect much to stick with you and don't worry too much about remembering anything because Tarantino doesn't leave anything to recollection - almost every time there's a moment that refers to an earlier scene, the audience is shown a snipped of said scene.
The best comparison I could make is imagine "Burn After Reading" except with the stories broken up into separate chapters and not nearly as connected and the film is stretched on for another 50 minutes. The biggest difference, though, is that the Coen Brothers often have tongue firmly in cheek while Tarantino's wagging his tongue, waiting excitedly for the next gory moment.
But what might have bothered me was that the film almost seemed to wink at its inappropriateness but then went right on with its faults, as if Tarantino was the biggest basterd of them all.
Continue Reading for the spoiler laden response.
Near the end of "Basterds", we see the Germans cackling and cheering at a film of a Nazi shooting down Americans. In my head, I was thinking that this was a good statement about what the audience around me was doing. Yes, the Nazis were basically the epitome of evil but what the Basterds were doing wasn't any better. They were doing the devil's work but towards a good end.
But in a fashion that also suits the American view of war/torture, Tarantino seemed to acknowledge the hypocrisy but then didn't care about it and just went on with the hypocrisy. It was almost a "But we're the good guys so fuck it." approach. Now I'd love to think that Tarantino was pulling a similar stunt that Michael Haneke did with "Funny Games", a film that's intention was to drive people from the theater. (The director basically said that if you enjoyed the movie, you need help.) I just don't think that was Tarantino's aim. in fact, it was the opposite. He simply made a violent revenge fantasy.
The film could have had an interesting climax if Shoshana's vengeance against Landa butted heads with the Basterd's trying to end the war but instead of something that kind of examined vengeance, it was Nazis bad/good guys good even when they act bad, ending in a climax that was, quite literally, overkill. Even if the film was going for nothing profound, it failed because it set up the Shoshana/Landa face-off amazingly well in the first scene, did a nice job of bringing it back up in the middle of the films... and then did absolutely nothing with it. Shoshana's story went from deeply personal to just a broad Nazi-hater who apparently wasn't concerned about whether or not Landa was even in the theater.
Like most vengeful acts, this film was empty, hollow, gives only a brief respite, and is probably better to avoid.
