Inglorious Basterds
No that’s not a typo: it’s spelled “Basterds”, and thats how the “Basterds” like it. A ragtag team of Jewish American Soldiers form a group with only one goal in mind: “Killin’ Nah-tzis.” We also follow Shosanna Dreyfus. She is a runaway Jew who has created a new identity for herself in Paris as the owner of a movie theater after narrowly escaping her family being massacred in rural Nazi occupied France. Her goal is also simple: to avenge her family and to assure her country and her people do not fall into Nazi control. Due to her crossing paths with a Nazi “hero” (quite the oxymoron) her theater becomes where they will be showing the premiere for his movie that showcase his “heroics” to all of the Nazi higher ups, including the Fuhrer himself. She devises a plan after also crossing paths with the Basterds that is sure to accomplish both their goals (“Killin’ Nah-tzis” and avenging Shosanna’s family). Much like the previous entry, this film may or may not have a sort of fairytale ending that makes us all feel good about our hatred for Nazis. The movie begins with an almost 20 minute scene between a Nazi officer looking for Jews and a French Dairy Farmer who is in fact, harboring Jews (Shosanna and her family) beneath the floorboards. English isn’t spoken until well into the suspenseful scene, but you find yourself engaged with every word of this seemingly charming man, even though you know not to trust him due to his uniform. This scene alone can prove why its on the list, though I also enjoy the bar scene where the Nazis are playing “heads up” (post-it on forehead with famous person or character and you try and guess it) for both its comedic effect and subtle suspense building.