Inglorious (but brilliant) Basterds

Dear Blog Diary,

My favorite Tarantino flick has always been Inglorious Basterds. I saw it in Philly when it first came out. I was with Metal. His real name is Mark but we share the same birthday except he’s six years older than me, so I’ve always felt we are strikingly similar as people but he’s just a little ahead of the curve than I am. He loved the movie. I hated it.

Too long, very slow, disengaging dialogue…I should mention that as a younger man I also saw No Country for Old Men and hated it. Yeah, even I don’t like 21 year old me.

When I watched it the second time, I loved Inglorious Basterds (same goes for No Country for Old Men).

The one thing I absolutely love about that movie is Aldo Rain, Brad Pitt’s character. (Spoilers) In the film, every character disguises him or herself in some way. Shoshana pretends that she is a gentile cinema owner. Hans Lander eventually pretends to be an informant for the allies. The Basterds dress up as Nazi soldiers…(Aldo Rain accent) in a basement.

The only character that doesn’t pretend is Aldo. It’s supposed to be funny! When they are at the movie premiere and their lives are literally on the line, “Buongiorno” with the most hideous American accent. The point is that even surrounded by Nazi soldiers who would love to kill him and his cover is the only thing keeping him alive, Aldo is incapable of being anything other than himself.

I’m the same way.

Best regards,

Eric