“Au Revoir, Shosanna!” The “IB” Trilogy Concludes With Quentin Tarantino’s INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009)

Despite the introduction of Brad Pitt (stoic and entertaining as "Lt. Aldo Raines," a sure-enough nod to real-life WW2 vet and Hollywood B-lister Aldo Ray), and a generous production budget, the "Inglorious Bastards" trilogy ends much the way it bagan way back in the 70s, offering up a collection of great little moments "inspired" by other movies to create a whole far greater than the sum of its parts.

At this point, what is there to say of 2009's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS? What initially asserts itself as a retread of standard "men-on-a-mission" epics like "The Guns Of Navarone" and "Operation Crossbow" in Tarantino's hands soon morphs into something more, a sad and elegaic meditation on the politics of guilt and revenge that's closer in tone to late-period John Ford than anything from the Italian exploitation masters QT so admires (French actress Melanie Laurent's Shosanna Dreyfus is even seen fleeing an impending Nazi execution in a shot modeled on the final image from Ford's "The Searchers," in case we weren't already getting the point). Fans of spaghetti war films should still take heart, though - original "Bastards" director Enzo G. Castelleri is on hand here in a small supporting role, while Antonio Margheriti and others are namechecked. And, as in "Kill Bill," much of the soundtrack is cobbled together from the vast library of symphonic maestro Ennio Morricone. 

Much like Ernst Lubitch's "To Be Or Not To Be," INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS plays not as an action film but as a comedy with remarkable, inventive dialogue. Christoph Waltz is terrific and Pitt is great fun, as is Eli Roth as Sgt. Donny Donowitz, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. Supported by amazing actors like Til Schweiger, Diane Kruger, B.J. Novak, and Daniel Brühl, these supporting roles are pushed from simply great to truly inspired - and inspiring.

And while this violent but ultimately cathartic tale may have become Tarantino's greatest box office hit to date thanks to Pitt's star power, it is Laurent who steals the show (and hearts) as the vengeful heroine Shosanna, the film's true protagonist. For it is her performance that ultimately sees past the film's roots in Castellari and lifts these INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS from the grindhouse to the arthouse.