The opening scene of Quentin
Tarantino’s 2009 masterpiece Inglorious
Basterds is a thing of beauty. In it, a local French farmer played by Denis
Menochet is having a conversation with a high ranking Nazi who we later has
earned the nickname “The Jew Hunter”. The conversation and scene clocks in at
almost 30 minutes, yet it flies by as the farmer and the Nazi are having such
an intense and engaging conversation. The Jew Hunter is charismatic and
charming and the life of the scene. While the Farmer always keeps his guards
up, the audience get sucked in. Despite his name, he doesn’t seem like he’s
that bad. He seems like an everyday bloke just trying to do his job. He could
be wrong about his mission, but he needs to investigate anyways. Then the scene
turns. Not only does the audience later figure out the Farmer is hiding a
family of Jewish people under his floorboards, but The Jew Hunter knows this as
well. He gets the Farmer to admit his “crimes” and eventually orders his men to
kill the entire family. One of the daughters, Shoshanna, escapes, and The Jew
Hunter points his gun at her back and she runs away- carefully following his
prey. Then… he gives up. He admits defeat and walks away.
And this is how America was
introduced to the great Christoph Waltz.
