The Campus Voice

Issue date: 9/1/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Photo courtesy of porhomme.com

Director Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" is an incredible adaptation on what most people wish would have happened during World War II.

The story begins in German-occupied France where Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) witnesses the brutal murder of her entire family at the command of Nazi Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Dreyfus escapes to Paris and fabricates a new identity as a modest French cinema owner. She disguises herself under an assumed name and cold demeanor awaiting the day that she may have her chance at revenge.

Meanwhile, an elite group of eight Jewish-American soldiers, the Basterds, is established by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), a descendant of Southern Apache moonshiners who sets his troops with a simple assignment: each man is tasked with collecting 100 Nazi scalps before the war is over.

Fate merges the Basterds and Dreyfus together when Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is persuaded to hold the premiere of his latest propaganda film, Nation's Pride, at Dreyfus's theatre. Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) is a German film star who is secretly working as a double agent with the Basterds to take down the leaders of The Third Reich.

The group soon learns that the entire Nazi High Command, including Hitler, will be in attendance at the premiere. No one will pass up the opportunity to deliver justice to the Fuhrer and end the war.

This film is classic 'Tarantino' from its 80's soundtrack to its unconventional cast. In Tarantino fashion, the movie has a few unique story lines that keep you jumping back and forth, but you are never unaware of what is happening.

Lt. Raine and Col. Landa's characters and accents are hilariously over the top, and they help make light of an otherwise sketchy topic of the movie. Director Eli Roth's character, Sgt. Donny Donowitz aka The Bear Jew, is known for bashing uncooperative Nazis heads in with a baseball bat. With that being said, this movie dons some very violent and graphic moments that are not for the faint of heart.

"Inglourious Basterds" only downfall is that the movie is mostly in French, German, and Italian so get ready to read the subtitles. This movie is easily considered as Tarantino's best work since 1994's Pulp Fiction, and leaves people thinking, 'If only this actually happened.'

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