| Inglorious Bastards |
| Written by Mob | |
Like most people, I ended up giving this a look because of the rumblings of a forthcoming Quentin Tarantino re-make, just to see what had him so worked up that he’d had to bring so much attention to this little seen film. The movie turned out to be enjoyable, with some amusing scenes interspersed throughout, though nothing I would imagine you’d need five (!) credited writers to produce. A group of military prisoners are being transported through occupied territories during WWII. Through their interactions before and then on the drive we learn some of their quirks or skills, and why they’ve been placed under arrest. They fall under enemy fire and are forced to take cover, but when the prisoners attempt to leave the vehicle, they find themselves under fire from both the American MP’s as well as the German planes strafing the area. Most of the prisoners are mowed down, either by their own comrades or the Germans, but a group led by Lt. Yeager (Svenson) and made up of Canfield (Williamson), Berle (Baseheart), Tony (Hooten) and Nick (Pergolani) make their way into the woods and hole up in a barn. The find another escaped prisoner hiding there as well, a German escapee named Adolph Sachs (Hamstorf), and he agrees that since they’re all in the same boat that he’ll lead them to Switzerland and freedom. They set out, arming themselves with mislaid weapons from nearby battlefields, but they encounter another German patrol very quickly. Posing as captives of Adolph, they attempt to bluff their way past, but are found out and sent to be executed in a neighboring abandoned building. They manage to shoot their way out again, scavenge some Nazi regalia to blend in better in the occupied territory and head out for Switzerland again. Things seem to look up for them when they encounter some SS women frolicking in the stream, but Canfield’s appearance obviously tips the ladies to their not being German. They end up killing what they think is a German patrol, but a case of mistaken identity later reveals that they’ve just killed a group of undercover Americans on their way to meet with French Resistance fighters. Posing as the group of spies, they attempt to finagle their freedom and safe passage to Switzerland by undertaking a dangerous mission in the dead spies place. This is a pretty no-nonsense film, once it establishes the main characters and their personalities; it doesn’t really slow down all that much until its climax aboard a Nazi train. The leads all pull off their roles very well, showing enough diversity, prejudice and in-fighting to make it believable without beating you over the head with it or distracting from the main plot, their escape to Switzerland, no matter what they have to do to earn that freedom. Svenson and Williamson play off each other nicely, with Canfield deferring to the Officer when he reveals his plan to head to the neutral country to escape prosecution. This is a quick moving little war film that just tells a story about men trying to stay alive, never getting distracted with any moralizing either way about the nature of man or why we choose to fight. Recommended. 7/10 |
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