Here’s the first trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, and I find myself unexpectedly unsettled. On paper, brutally killing Nazis sounds like a fun idea for a QT movie. But when I saw at the facial expression of the Nazi who is about to get his head bashed in with a bat, I immediately remembered that war is fought by human beings – not one dimensional caricatures.
I’ll reserve judgment until I see the thing, but I hope Tarantino doesn’t diminish the honor and integrity of the real men who fought the Nazis.
I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, the hypocrisy and superficiality of what Pitt says in this trailer makes me think it HAS to be meant as ironic. I’m not saying that is the case, as Nazis are the archetypal villains in modern life and Quentin Tarantino is a bloodmonger. But, if this guy has any depth he has to see the twisted nature of what he’s presenting. In fact, if – that is, IF – all of this is intended as ironic, it would actually be a film of mangificent depth, luring people in to expect vengeance and brutality without guilt only to show them how shallow and vulnerable they really are.
On a sidenote, would it be possible to ban Brad Pitt from attempting Southern accents? His Cajun accent in Benjamin Button was tolerable, but often distracting, while the one he uses in this film is downright awful.