After a screening, the critic was loitering outside of the auditorium, holding court, essentially, with fellow film goers anxious to hear her observations. She, rather disingenuously, asked me about how I felt about movies, in general; I answered that I have to see a movie twice to know whether I liked it. And she made a face. Yes, she was rude when she did that, but it also illustrated how jaded she became. While I was a newbie when it came to film studies, and followed the example set by my first film studies professor, Bill Vincent, I've already realized that multiple viewings of certain films are absolutely mandatory. I always cite Dangerous Liaisons as an example, but Rainman (loved it), and Ghost (HATED IT) are also definitive examples of this practice.
Benjamin Button was, absolutely, the film that I viewed the most in theaters, because there was so much richness within the story and within its subtext. And this weekend, Inglourious Basterds has proven to be another film where it is necessary to view multiple times in order to recognize the true genius of it. Putting aside my disdain for Tarantino (because he's a loud-mouthed douche), he did put together a movie which calls upon its viewers to be fully engaged in what is really going on beneath the surface. Sure, there will be fanboys complaining that there were too many subtitles and not enough violence, which I somewhat agree with, but this film should not be easily written off.
I would advise moviegoers to go see the movie just to get an idea of what's happening, and then see it again and pay attention to what's not being said. It's a difficult task, since Tarantino seems to wants his dialogue to outshine his actors (very long subtitles - get ready for them), but it's well worth the effort. And similar to Benjamine Button, this movie makes you want to crack open a book in order to connect some dots. For example, Goebbels became incensed when Lilian Harvey was mentioned during the tour of Emmanualle's cinema; according to Wiki, although she was part German and enjoyed a loyal following in Germany, she refused to give up her Jewish colleagues to the Gestapo and flagrantly entertained the French troops, which resulted in her German citizenship being revoked. Other references to the movie needs additional research such as G.W. Pabst. Although I've seen Pandora's Box and Diary of a Lost Girl and have read Wiki's take on his career before, during and after Nazi occupation, I do need to know whether Shoshanna's willingness to include his name on the marquee had any significance to her.
Now to the fun part - what I liked about the movie.
- The swatzika-carvings - As a Black American, I get pretty d@mn tired of old White farts being revealed as Grand Wizards and other foot soldiers of home-grown American fascists, as well as ex-SS officers, responsible for brutalities and murders against innocent citizens. So while it wasn't appetizing to watch, it was an excellent stroke to carve swatzikas on the foreheads of the surviving German soldiers. It would be nice if crosses were branded onto the foreheads of our out of control fascist douchebags, since they seemed to like flaming crosses so much, but unfortunately, Jim Crow and the complacency of the so-called good Americans, stacked the deck in the douchebags' favor.
- The illusion of cordiality - The Germans' attempt to be cordial and social, in so-called 'typical' circumstances, amped up the tension. It was clear when people like Monsieur Lapadite and Shoshanna/Emmanuelle, were called up to be cordial, although the Germans made it clear that a negative response or rejection of advance would not be acknowledged. And personally, if Fredrick Zoller's 'ignorance' of Shoshanna's contempt of him was any indication of typical Nazi mindset, it must've been an incredibly frustrating environment to live in, especially for women.
- Shoshanna's death - While I was totally onboard with her plan to incinerate with the rest of the trapped German higher-ups, I think her meeting her end, in a hail of bullets, was the proper way for her to go out. Her family died that way and at least, Shoshanna had the chance to drag the pesky Fredrick Zoller, to the grave too. Seriously, I couldn't stand that dude; few things are more annoying than a dude feigning cluelessness, especially when a woman gives mad vibe that she doesn't want anything to do with him.
- Bridget von Hammersmarks' look - Before hell broke loose in the basement tavern, Bridget von Hammersmark was the picture of 40s glamour. That chick was sharp as a tack! And the shoes, which eventually became her undoing, were fantastic. I prefer the heels of the 30s and 40s - they're low, by today's standards, and yet, they made the legs of every woman who wore them look more beautiful.
- Lt. Aldo Raine - Brad Pitt, at 45, seems more comfortable in his own skin than during any previous period of his film career. His Tenessee accent was hilarious, and the fact that his Aldo didn't give a $h*t about sticking out like a sore thumb (Italian stuntman, indeed!) made him even more endearing. I am intrigued about the rope burn around his neck, though. In the weeks leading to IB's premiere, I looked up lynchings and the possible circumstances that could lead a White man to a predicament that many unfortunate Black people found themselves in. He mentioned moonshine - but according to Wiki, White men could face lynching if they stole something; if they posed a threat to someone else's economic/financial well-being; or violated the Jim Crow status quo, i.e. engaging in miscegnation. Whatever he did, I am even more curious at how he got out of the noose and who wounded in the grave intended for him, because I get the feeling that there was a body count.
- Hans Landa - Christoph Waltz's Hans Landa was a twerp in jack boots; but with the back-up of the SS, he was a cloying, murderous, cunning sack of $h*t. I'm still trying to figure out if Landa knew he was having strudel with Shoshanna. His insistence that Shoshanna/Emmanuelle wait for the cream seemed to be a test in order to detect if she was 'Jewish'. Emmanuelle seemed to make a big show of putting a large dollop of the cream on her strudel and swallowing it enthusiastically. If Landa knew Emmanuelle was Shoshanna, did he derive a great pleasure in her eating something that was likely not kosher? Would that validate his belief that humans are capable of anything when they truly lost all of their dignity? And why kill Bridget but spare Shoshanna - because he didn't expect Shoshanna to do the damage that she would ultimately do?
- Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz - Man, that Til Schweiger is one handsome sonofabitch, but he was also scary as hell as Hugo. Hugo was stewing, big time, and the flashback of him getting lashed, may have played a role in his demeanor. But I also wondered whether the SS officers that he killed committed or attempted to commit some kind of misconduct against him. He seemed to kill quite a few while they were in bed - I wonder, with his incredible good looks, they tried to pull some Brokeback business on him.
- It's clear that Monsieur LaPadite's blonde daughter, Charlotte, was the one who sold the Dreyfuses out (this is based on the fact that she was the first LaPadite daughter he approached once he invited himself into the house). Why would she betray her father and the Dreyfuses like that? Did Shoshanna ever find out about this and exacted some sort of revenge? Was Shoshanna/Emmanuelle's blonde hair natural or a reminder of Charlotte's betrayal?
- Given that Tarantino admitted that Don Donowitz was the grandfather of one of his characters in True Romance, was he the one person who made it out of the theater, via an explosion? Initially, I thought the scream was that of a woman, but the form of the flaming person flying out of the engulfed cinema, looked male. And presumably, while Don was in the lobby, he removed the bomb attached to his leg, because only one of the three bombs the Basterds had was attached to a man's leg.
- Was this film as much of an indictment against the Nazi sympathizers as the Nazis themselves? Because Francesca Mondino's relationship with Goebbels seemed relunctant, initially, but when he was moved by Hitler's approval, she seemed to comfort him. And given how she was seeming obliterated by the Basterds' machine gun fire, I have to wonder if the wrath was even more intense towards her like?
- Clearly, Fredrick Zoller was supposed to be Germany's equivalent to Audie Murphy, although Murphy's career probably jumped off well after Zoller's subsequent death. Was Zoller's aw-shucks advances toward Emmanuelle/Shoshanna indicative of his true personality or was it the nasty, aggressive attitude that got him shot?
- How did Shoshanna really get possession of that theater? Did she really work for the Mimieux? Did they really die the way Emmanuelle described or did they discover she was Jewish and Emmanuelle/Shoshanna and Marcel had to take care of them permanently?
- Why would the British send Lt. Archie Hicox into the thick of Operation Kino when he was, clearly, not prepared? He didn't have an appropriate accent; he wasn't aware of the German culture, i.e. the 3 fingers and whether an officer can tell another officer to step off when a woman is present? Was this due to arrogance, since the British may not have thought it necessary to be knowledgable about the Germans? Or was it just time constraints?
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