Inglorious Basterds

I am not a big fan of Brad Pitt. In fact, whenever I see his movies I try to find some fault so that I can criticize him for it. Maybe it is due to the hype he gets every time or because he seems so full of himself in his movies. But even a prejudice could not prevent me from admiring his performance in this movie. In fact, I would say he carried the movie through though I am sure many would argue that the movie is bigger than Brad Pitt or the character he played.

The movie is set during WWII. It is a fictional tale of a group of men from the US who land in France with the intent of killing every German in sight. Brad Pitt plays Lt. Raine the leader of a group of Jewish Americans who are referred to as the Inglorious Basterds by the Germans. They are ruthless in their killing and cut the scalp of their victims as a souvenir. Col. Landa is a high ranking officer in the German ranks who comes to be known as The Hunter because of the way he sniffs out Jews in hiding and exterminating them. The movie starts in rural France where Col. Landa was about to sniff out a family of hiding jews. Somehow a girl escapes Landa's men and comes to the city, assumes a new identity of Emmanuelle Mimieux and ends up being the owner of a movie theater. A chance visit by Frederick Zoller, who earned the reputation of killing 300 odd people after being isolated in a bell tower, changes the life of Emmanuelle. Frederick is a war hero and a movie has been made about his exploits in which he plays himself. He decides to premiere the movie in Emmanuelle's theater as he is 'infatuated' with her. The twist here is that Hitler chooses to attend the premiere which makes the event a prime target for Lt. Raine and his men. The story unfolds with sudden twist and turns, some out of the blue and some totally as expected such as Emmanuelle getting gunned down by Frederick (come on dumb blonde, when you shoot a guy you make sure he is dead).

I should admit at this stage that I have not seen a single movie of Tarantino before this. I see a lot of movies but somehow I have not seen his movies till date even though I have Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction at home. So I saw the movie without any expectations or idea on what to expect. The screenplay was mighty impressive and so was the direction. The story was not too taut and had some incosistencies with few things left unexplained (such as how come Landa lets the girl escape), which I am sure would be attributed to the brilliance of Tarantino or whatever by his fans. But the highlight of it, as I have said before, is the acting of Brad Pitt. His demeanour and the accent of a southerner that he has pulled off was a treat to watch. The pace of the movie is pretty good. It has some gory scenes but other than that it is a good movie to watch. But definitely not the greatest.