Visions of swastikas in my head
The first thing to say is, if you don't want to know about the film, stop reading now.
Have you stopped? You should really stop. Ok, I'll begin.
Inglourious Basterds is not what I was expecting. As a remake of Inglorious Bastards, a hastily retitled and badly dubbed Italian film that played well with American Jews but nobody else, I was expecting polish and verve, I was expecting witty dialogue, I was expecting genuine tension and perhaps even fear as befits a film directed by Quentin Tarantino. And I got all of those. But basically, I was really expecting the Dirty Dozen with Brad Pitt as Lee Marvin, and I didn't get that at all.
The opening scene may well be the best scene of the entire film. The genuine fear, the real tension, the uncertainty and the sudden realization of the enormous intelligence of Christoph Waltz's character as tears roll gently down the poor French farmer's face. It's not classic Tarantino by any means. Actually, I'd say it has much more in common with the dramatisation of Smiley's People - everything is matter of subtle undercurrents although where in Alec Guinness's hands they were undercurrents of weary inevitability, here they are a growing, creeping fear that only becomes overt in the last few seconds.
It's not the Dirty Dozen at all. We see very little of the Basterds in action and what we do see is representative rather than absolute. In fact, we really don't see all that much of the Bastards or of their leader, Aldo the Apache (Brad Pitt). We see a great deal of every other character.
One thing that surprised me a great deal was the one-dimensional stereotypical nature of Americans and British in this fim (although Michael Fassbender does a superb job as Lt Archie Hicox, even to the point of managing to sound like an Englishman who speaks good German where German is in fact his first language) while German and French characters are treated with sympathy, humanity and understanding by the script. Given the plot, this came as an enormous surprise and was fairly disconcerting, if enjoyable.
Anyone whowatching the timeline or knows about what actually went on during WWII was aware that, engrossing as the story was, it was wrong from the start. Therefore, the dénouement did not seem as bizarre as it otherwise might; it felt like an alternate universe from the second we saw Brad Pitt address his troops.
I don't really do literary criticism or the like; it is none of my business what Tarantino was "trying to say" but a part of me does wonder if the whole thing was made for a bet - give it ten years and Americans and Israelis will believe this is what happened, simply because they wish it had been like that. It wasn't. If they do, Tarantino may well clean up on his bet but the price in egotism will be way too high.
Sometimes the pleasant interrogations went on too long. Sometimes, the pace was painfully slow. But the characterisation was excellent and I forgot the subtitles completely after 5 minutes; the sure sign of good storytelling. I should note that my girlfriend did not (and was disappointed by the relatively low amount of on-screen Pitt) but she barely remembers any French or German. Your mileage may vary.
Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I watch it again? Yes. I don't doubt for a second that I'd get more from repeated viewings; it's that kind of a film. To sum up, don't expect anything because it's not predictable. But it is well worth seeing.