Inglourious Basterds is just one of the masterpieces from Quentin Tarantino (and after this movie you can expect many more). With this movie, however, he has raised the bar even for himself. The movie is shot mostly in Germany and France, and Tarantino has the gift of creating magic by getting into details, especially when it comes to making a period movie.

If you are expecting a typical war movie with lots of gun shots, tanks and air bombing raids, you will be disappointed. This war movie is a story about two plots to kill the Furher (Hitler), one by a small American army called “Basterds” and the other by a French Jewish cinema owner.

The screenplay of the movie is perfect, with small threads of the movie connecting towards the end. Having portions of the movie in German lends an authenticity to the movie, that a period movie director sometimes goofs up with by having everything in English. One should be warned, however, that the movie has certain scenes that may not be appropriate for people with a weak heart. But, the gory violence has not been overdone and lends a perfect mood to the movie.

Every character has been given ample space to perform. Brilliant characterization has helped the movie stay on course, and does not let it deviate from the original storyline. The way each character is revealed, and his, or her, role unraveled slowly through the movie keeps you at the edge of your seat. Although Tarantino’s movie is mostly about Jewish guerrillas tracking down and killing Nazi soldiers in occupied France, it has some very interesting observations about the Nazi film industry’s presence in that country.

The role of the leader of Basterds called “Aldo, the Apache” has been played by Brad Pitt, who has done an excellent job with his American Yankee accent. Although his role is very limited – to just guiding his guerrilla army towards their plot – he has played it pretty well. After all it is not his fault that the villainous role is the very core of this movie.

Pitt’s performance has been overshadowed by Christopher Waltz who has played “The Jew Hunter”. His dialogues are excellent, and Waltz has done justice to them with his excellent delivery. He can make one cry with the gruesome and chilling dialogues – sheer ruthlessness portrayed just by dialogues.

This is a gem from Tarantino, with an excellent script, and perfect portrayal of characters. This will go down as a classic in many movie lovers list. The climax of the movie could have been better in terms of avoiding the abrupt ending. Some viewers may not like the deviation of story from actual history, but what is a movie without some twist in the tale. Enjoy the movie folks, don’t miss it.

(Rating – 4/5)