Inglourious Basterds Film Analysis
The film ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is a film that was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and was released in the year 2009. The film is based in World War II in which the Jewish-American soldiers were chosen to assassinate the Nazis and therefore tells a fictional alternate history.
Plot
The film begins in 1941 when Shosanna, a Jewish girl in France hides beneath the floor of a farmhouse and this occurs when Colonel Hans Landa performs interrogation to a farmer regarding the presence of hidden Jews in the home. The Jews are found, and some of them are gunned down. However, Shosanna manages to escape unharmed. Afterwards, Lieutenant Raine makes recruitments where Jewish-American soldiers are absorbed to the force, to fight in a special unit, the Basterds, with a primary aim of spreading terror in the German Army. The Basterds are known for killing and scalping Nazis and carving a Swastika into the foreheads of the survivors. The strategy works and fear of the Basterds spread through the German ranks.
After fleeing, Shosanna changes her identity and heads to Paris where she runs a movie theatre. She gets romantically involved with Frederick Zoller, who is a famous German sniper with a high body count. Frederick has starred in a propaganda film regarding his success in the battle and takes his influence to convince Joseph Goebbels to hold the premiere at Shosanna’s theatre. Finally, it is decided that all of the German high ranking officers will attend the premiere at Shosanna’s theatre. Learning this, Shosanna wants to revenge and therefore hatches a plan to burn down the theatre with the Germans being trapped inside. At the same time, the British Royal Marine plans to make an attack on the premiere at the theatre, and as a result, he teams up with the Basterds to go undercover and massacre the Nazis at the theatre by meeting with a German film star, Bridget von Hammersmark. Bridget is shot in the leg after nearly escaping a run with some of the German soldiers. Besides, the Basterds lose all of their German-speaking allies.
While in Paris, Hans Landa investigates the shooting and finds Bridget’s shoe and a napkin with her information. Raine comes to the premiere and poses as an Italian filmmaker, and she is accompanied by two other Basterds. Raine is able to discern who the Basterds are and thus takes Bridget to a private office where he interrogates her and then murders her after confirming that she has been working with the British and Americans. Raine along with another Basterd are taken as prisoners. However, Landa strikes a deal for immunity and allow the mission to proceed at the theatre. Frederick in the theatre comes calling for Shosanna; however, she is not interested. Frustrated, the two shoots at each other to death. Shosanna’s man locks the Nazis in the theatre and puts it on fire. The two remaining Basterds enters Hitler’s box at the theatre and open fire on the Nazis as they try to escape the fire. A bomb set by the Basterds in the theatre explodes as the fire burns, and this kills everyone in the theatre. Finally, Raine and Landa reach the allied territory where Banda honors the agreement with Landa for immunity, but only after Raine carves a swastika into Landa’s forehead.
Characters
The Inglourious Basterds has many characters, both major and minor. Among the major characters include Christopher Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa, Melanie Laurent as Shosanna Dreyfus, Brad Pitt as Aldo Raine, Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark and Michael Fassbender as Lieutenant Archie Hicox. Other major characters include Daniel Bruhl as Pfc. Frederick Zoller, Jacky Ido as Marcel, Omar Doom as Pfc. Omar Ulmer, Til Schweiger as Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz, Martin Wuttke as Adolf Hitler, B.J Novak as Pfc Smithson Utivich, and finally Eli Roth as Sgt. Donny Donowitz. The characters are categorized into allies who include: the Basterds (Americans), the British, and the Jews and the Axis Powers who include the Nazis.
Themes and morals
The ‘Inglourious Basterds’ is a film centered around the theme of revenge on life through violence and torture. The allies combine efforts in trying to outdo the Axis powers that include the Nazis. Nazis were involved in the persecution of Jews, and this is the basis of the film. The Jews are in constant fear of getting killed, and in the introduction, this is visible with Shosanna, the main character hiding along with other Jews on the farm. When they are found, some of them are shot dead with Shosanna being lucky to evade the shootout. As a result of this, the two sides develop enmity with the Jews joining hands with the Americans and British to form the Basterds Army that was meant to spread fear among the Germans. The Basterds were not only meant to spread fear but also were on the mission to help the Jews revenge the cruelty of the Nazis. At the end of the film, the Basterds burnt down and killed the visitors of the theatre in which many of the Nazis were murdered.
The theme of violence, torture and terror is evident from the film. The cutting of a swastika on Colonel Landa’s head at the end of the movie by Aldo the Apache and declaring it his masterpiece is an indication of violence. Furthermore, in the introduction, Shosanna and other Jews were terrorized by the Nazis, and that is why they sought a hiding ground. The setting of fire and murder through shooting is a clear illustration of the theme of terror, fear and violence and aligns with the mission of the Basterds to spread fear to the Nazis.