Review of Inglourious Basterds (2009) Starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz and Melanie Laurent

Those who would argue that there is nothing more to say about major historical events like World War II should see Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's long-in-the-works revenge flick. Just as the critic reinterprets texts -- what new is there to say about Hamlet? -- the artist reframes history, manipulating our preconceptions and taboos. Thus we see militaristic Jews in the French Resistance taking on Nazi SS officers mano-a-mano, and a French Jewish girl plot her revenge on the Nazi leadership. Your imagination may be lit afire, or you may reel in indignation, but you won't be taking your eyes off the screen.

This insouciant attitude defines Tarantino's work -- he breaks the rules. Critics say that he is a brilliant writer of dialogue but cannot string together complete narrative, which is a fair criticism. But what Tarantino has done with Inglourious Bastards is piece together a pastiche of shocking and inspiring moments into a postmodern film that shows us that history can be rewritten with lightning.

Brad Pitt plays Aldo Raine, who leads a team of Jewish soldiers in Vichy France as they batter, scalp and terrify as many uniformed Nazis as possible. In the other plot, soulless SS man Col. Hans Landa (played by Christoph Waltz) executes Shoshanna Dreyfus' (Melanie Laurent) family, and when famed German sniper-turned-actor Fredrick Zoller takes a liking to Shoshanna and her Paris cinema, the plots come together for "Operation Kino" and a satisfying, if fantastically violent, conclusion.

Inglourious Basterds introduces many impressive European actors, especially Waltz. A handful of scenes seem to go too slowly, but Tarantino's movies are a weird mix of trashy movies with an art-house film feel. In multiple scenes, two characters simply sit across from one another and try to size up one another's loyalties, not unlike Bergman's The Seventh Seal. But we also see elements from 1930s gangster movies, Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns, 1980s MTV videos and subtitles that interrupt the narrative. Again, this is postmodern pastiche which draws our attention to our reactions instead of merely handing us a story for distraction. Ironically, the effect is a direct feeling of revenge that does not invite us to question the violence on either side -- Allies or Nazis. Nonetheless, I came away from the moviewith a powerful feeling of how cinema is a force unto itself.

Interpreted as pastiche, Inglourious Basterds works well. But by the standards of traditional storytelling, the movie does not bring together its undeniably hyper and resonant pieces, such as a realistic scene establishing the brilliant sadism of "The Jewhunter" (Waltz), Brad Pitt's turn as American war guy, and believable impersonations of both Hitler and Goebbels. But with each moment brimming with ideas and visual density, style indeed overcomes a less-than-coherent narrative. If this is everything we expect from Tarantino, why does Inglourious Basterds surprise us so? Cinema written in lightning needs no apology.