Once Upon A Time...

Inglourious Basterds has been in theaters for about a month and the movie is still very much on my mind. I wonder if Quentin Tarantino had not included a disclaimer at the beginning of Inglourious Basterds declaring the movie “NOT based on/inspired by a true story/actual events” if anyone would’ve made such a big deal about the ending. We all know that unless those words “based on” or “inspired by” are tagged to movie that what we’re about to see is a made up story. But even when a fictional story is set against a historical event, we expect certain things to play out in a certain way. Perhaps what surprised us most of all about Inglourious Basterds was that we saw a fictional ending to a fictional film.

Tarantino has said (I’m paraphrasing) that he has never predestined his characters; the actions of the characters determine the plot. Following that logic, the final scenes of Inglourious Basterds make sense, in the world of the Inglourious Basterds. I think it’s important to remember that as much as Inglourious is a “violent revenge fantasy” it’s also about movies and people that love movies. The film itself is a movie that loves movies. Like always, Tarantino loads this film with subtle and obvious references to other movies. The character Shosanna owns a movie theater, she’s the object of a young Nazi war hero turned propaganda movie star’s affection, a German movie star is also spy for the Allies, British Lt. Hicox is chosen for a secret mission because he was a film critic before the war, and, of course, the ending centers around a movie premiere.

Even the Basterds are movie fans

Last year’s Valkyrie also concerned a plot to kill Hitler, except that one was based on a true story. It was a very reverent telling of a true event and as a thriller it’s a modest success. It’s hard to make a good thriller when everyone already knows how it will end. On the other end of the spectrum, I remember hearing that the makers of One Million Years B.C. were well aware that the title was inaccurate, as was the depiction of humans and dinosaurs coexisting, but the filmmakers figured that it was a just a movie, an entertainment not meant to be taken seriously.

A true cinephile like Tarantino wants to give us the most interesting and entertaining movie possible. He does this through long, almost drawn out, scenes to build tension, top-notch (and sometimes eccentric) acting, and, most important in a Tarantino movie, interesting characters that drive the story. It doesn’t matter if what we see is true or not because it’s all meant to be fun, enjoyed, and leave the audience satisfied.