INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

"You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'."
This quote from Lieutenant Aldo "the Apache" Raine, played by Brad Pitt, perfectly captures the essence of this movie's spirit and the spirit of the titular band of antiheroes: The Basterds. 
Based on a script that director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino had been working and re-working since 1998, Inglourious Basterds is the tale of a group of Jewish-American soldiers led by Lt. Aldo in a Nazi-scalping brigade in France, as well as the tale of a young Jewish woman named Shoshana who witnessed the killing of her entire family by the SS in the French countryside. 
Although the film is made of two distinct narratives spliced together, Shoshana and the Basterds share a common goal: annihilating a large group of Nazi officers during the premiere of a propaganda film. 
Although the plot of Inglourious Basterds is as arguably gratuitously violent as any other Tarantino work, I don't think the bloodbaths that plague the run time distract from the underlying narrative of the piece; rather, the fact that so many characters meet violent ends is a testament to the sacrifices that are often made by two or more parties at war (often for the "greater good", whatever that means), and the seemingly wanton disregard for human life almost plants doubt in the mind of the viewer that there are innocent and culpable, good or evil men in times of war. Warfare is not as black and white as we all would like it be. 
That being said, this is not a suitable movie for children, those that are disturbed by carnage, or the easily-offended. Along with Tarantino's penchant for graphic violence comes his outright refusal to be reverent, which honestly gives him greater opportunity for clever and comedic moments in the confrontations and dialogue between the movie's characters, in my opinion. 
Although there is much irreverence and violence in the film, which would usually be considered "low" choices for a director or writer, the way the the violent events or callous dialogue play out in the film are often sophisticated and unexpected, causing the "low" art to transcend to "high" art in a way. In the research I did to write this review, I found that Inglorious Basterds is considered to be a part of the postmodernist film movement, which is often characterized by a combination of "high" and "low" art or style (a combination which is known as pastiche). The combination of relentlessly violent action with brilliant cinematography, as well as cunning dialogue and colorful language certainly adhere to the pastiche principle of postmodernism. I also learned that a fragmented story line can also be indicative of post-modernism, and I would call this film somewhat fragmented, as the self-aware movie divides its action into chapters, and the plot bounces back and forth between the arc of Shoshana and the arc of the Basterds.
As you can probably tell, I very much enjoy Tarantino's films, including this one. I believe that the script is brilliant, and that the actors do a great job playing their characters. I also enjoy that much of the dialogue is spoken in French and German, which I find to be beautiful languages. However, this might not be a film for people that don't like reading subtitles.
The score for this movie is very strange, for it also feels fragmented. Usually, movie scores will have a theme that is repeated throughout the film, but every bit of underscore felt different, which could either point to the score's being incoherent, or fresh in its variety. I also appreciated the use of the David Bowie song "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" , which was used satirically as Shoshana prepared to burn down her own cinema. I have a special place in my heart for when music in a film directly contrasts and pokes fun at whatever action its playing under, so Tarantino catered to that particular whim of mine, and I was quite pleased.
The colors used in this film are also brilliant. Although there are a lot of dark military uniforms, as can be expected from a war film, the dark aspects of the design, instead of subduing the bright colors when they appeared, rather made them pop more dramatically. I also love the costuming in the film, particularly for the female characters. 
As for the female characters, I'm not sure this film would pass the Bechdel test, but at least the two main female characters (Shoshana and a German film star and double-agent named Bridget von Hammersmark) are cunning and strong, Shoshana in particular. At the end of the film, she throws the biggest "fuck you" at the movie's antagonists (the Nazis) that I have ever seen to date. Apparently Tarantino struggled for years with the ending of the film, but I was quite satisfied with the end result. 
In summary: Inglourious Basterds, like several other Tarantino works, is bloody, irreverent, and fragmented; however, these qualities, rather than lowering the quality of the film, I believe that the execution of Tarantino's concepts elevate the movie to art. I appreciate that my preparation for writing this review led me to research a little bit about postmodernist films, because the movement's dada-esque "fuck you" to the auteurs of modernism is a spirit after my own heart. The acting, dialogue, and design of the film are brilliant, and the ending is both bittersweet and triumphant. However, if you are turned off by violence, flippant humor, or a somewhat-long run time (a little over two hours), you might find this movie a regrettable use of your time. 

Rating: A