Monday 9 January 2012

Inglorious Filmmaking


I’m glad that I didn’t go to see Inglorious Basterds at the cinema; it’s not that it’s a bad film; it’s just not a very good film.  It does have its humorous moments, homage’s to spaghetti westerns, with a Leone style soundtrack but set in rural France, and it also has moments of great tension.
Sadly, the tense moments only appear around the character of Hans Landa, who is a character whom you actually believe in, and you believe could do anything. 
Shoshanna is also an interesting character with whom, because of all our knowledge about the persecution of Jews, you can understand her motives.  But once again the obvious romance between her and her black projectionist are not explained.  You can’t help wonder whether the only reason why they have been put together is because they were both persecuted due to their race.
As for the violence, it is truly over the top, and seems to be wielded by Tarantino like a child with a gun.  It is dealt with far too a comedic way, both detracting and distracting from the story.  In much the same way the continuous switches between German, French and English (with the relevant subtitles appearing and then disappearing when it switches again).  Am I the only one who finds it impossible to switch from concentrating on listening to reading and back again, without losing something in-between?
All in all it is an ok film, but the story is much too much of a child’s fantasy for it to be truly absorbing and only great after several beers and there’s no Die Hard to watch.  5.5 out of 10.

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