Inglourious Basterds

BY Rabbi Elliot B. Gertel

March 24, 2010

Beware of films that coin their ownspellings in their titles. They will doanything to get your attention. Beware ofHolocaust films, however well intentioned,whose Nazis are more charismatic thanthe Jews are.They will give evil a charmingface, even while graphically depicting evil.

We all know that Quentin Tarantino isclever, and that his films will hold ourattention. At will, he can make us laugh,even cry, and sit at the edges of our seats,or fulminate in anger or in righteousindignation.

He achieved some of this in InglouriousBasterds. The film did, after all, receivean Academy Award nomination. As acreative experiment, the film deservessome respect. The script is literate andeven cultured. The directing and actingare consistently fine, sometimes borderingon the exquisite.

It is not surprising that Austrian actorChristopher Waltz was honored with theBest Actor Oscar. When I first saw the filmseveral months ago, I scribbled in thetheater: "Beware of Holocaust films,however well-intentioned, where theNazis are more charismatic than the Jews,films that prompt you, as an audiencemember, to personally want to present anOscar to a murderous character out ofsheer admiration." I added in my notes:"In such cases, either the actor is toogood or the writing and direction aremorally ambiguous."

Waltz's character, Colonel Hans Landa,is called "The Jew Hunter." He prideshimself on being a good detective. Hecompares Jews to rats. The film beginswith his hunting down a Jewish family inthe home of a French farmer and hisfamily, good Christians, who are hidingthem, and then exterminating most ofthat Jewish family. The teenage daughter,Shoshanna (Melanie Laurent), escapes.She survives and succeeds at establishinga high-class Parisian theater, which ischosen by the German high command asthe place to screen their major propagandamovie. Shoshanna then plots to burndown her theater with all the Nazi eliteofficers, including Hitler himself, in it.

Subscribe to read more.