And why you should see Inglourious Basterds - by Nathan Mattia
Disclaimer: Since 1994’s Pulp Fiction made him a cinema sensation for many (you may have been busy watching Forrest Gump that year) Quentin Tarantino has written and directed some of the most innovative, and to some, offensive films of this generation. From Jackie Brown to the Kill Bill movies, he’s not afraid to take risks and shock his audiences with strong (but often hilarious) language, over-the-top violence, drug use, or out-of-order-plots. Here below are the reasons you should see his latest film, Inglourious Basterds, even if you’ve never heard of him before, or you were offended by one of his previous offerings.
I don’t know if he’s ever been into using drugs, but Quentin Tarantino is a man who knows the fleeting happiness of addiction. Whether your drug (or idol) of choice is sweet revenge, heroin, a cigarette, or a five-dollar milk shake, he knows how to capture the giddy joy of the fix. Nearly 3 years have passed since the last Tarantino movie (I refuse to count Grindhouse, thanks) and Inglourious Basterds, a film about a group of World War II Nazi hunters, totally fills the cravings.
I find four things fascinating about Tarantino’s films across the board:
1. Tarantino knows how to get career making performances out of his actors (as long as his actors aren’t him). This can be good and bad in the long run (did Travolta really need a comeback?). But Brad Pitt and company are in top form here, and you can expect an Academy Award nomination for Cristoph Waltz playing a Nazi Colonel—if political correctness doesn’t get in the way.
2. Tarantino knows how to authentically capture the quiet moments of a good story. Witness a conversation between spies interrupted by a Nazi officer. Or the interrogation of a Jewish sympathizer. They drift. They chase rabbits. The camera lingers through a cigarette when other directors would cut to the equivalent of another explosion or shopping montage. We take the time to take breaths with the characters as suspense builds. It is these moments that make Tarantino’s movies feel authentic and true, even when much of his dialogue would rarely happen in real life. That juxtaposition is part of where his genius lay, and few other writers in Hollywood can accomplish this these days.
3. On the other side, the suspense does not build for nothing and this movie pops with crisp action. Since it’s a Tarantino movie, this means lots of guns, and they are put to good use here. Sometimes death comes in slow motion with music that is just right. Sometimes it is completely over the top and comical. And sometimes death is stark and ugly and completely unexpected, just like real life. But lethal justice is meted fairly in Tarantino’s worlds, even though the heroes sometimes die too. This is why I can sit next to someone in a theater whose favorite part of the film is a torture scene. Tarantino’s worlds are moral, even if they are twisted somewhat.
4. I NEVER know where the plot is going and this is totally awesome.
Inglourious Basterds is a Nazi war-movie, a revenge tale, an action flick, and a talkie film rolled into one. And you never know what’s coming at you next. Assassination attempts, comic cameos, scalpings; be ready because they are all here and unless you cheat and ask someone, you won’t know where.
If you’ve ever liked a Tarantino movie at all, or are appalled at the lack of originality and guts in modern cinema, Inglourious Basterds is the balm for what ails you. At the end of the day, you should see it because it is excellent movie making.
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Nathan is a husband, father, pastor, and writer. He is known as an aesthete of fine tobaccos and gets his kicks from teaching history to middle-school students.
These are his thoughts, what are yours?
Rethink Mission is about the intersection of the gospel, the church and culture. Weekly we feature reviews and other interactions with artistic expressions of the culture around us.
Rethink Mission is about the intersection of the gospel, the church and culture. Weekly we feature reviews and other interactions with artistic expressions of the culture around us. This week, guest blogger 
