DRAMA: ANALYSIS OF QUENTIN TARANTINO’S INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. PAGES 6-16

These pages are from the first chapter of Quentin Tarantino's most recent film: Inglourious Basterds. The title of the chapter is "Once upon a time…in Nazi occupied France…"

There are three voices in the excerpt I've chosen. The first is the narrator, who details the characters' movements and gestures as well as the setting. Also, because this part of the film is set in France, the narrator says what languages the characters will be speaking. The other two voices are of the characters: Perrier LaPadite and S.S. Coronel Hans Landa.

Structure: Landa and LaPadite are sitting in LaPadite's house in a farm somewhere in France. Landa is in charge of finding Jews that have avoided capture in previous years. The conversation begins with Landa's introduction and his assignment in France. In order to conduct his search of Jews more thoroughly, Landa takes out some information from a black suitcase and begins asking LaPadite about the Jewish families that used to live in the area. All the families in the area have been accounted for except for the Dreyfuses, and the two men go on to discuss the rumors surrounding what happened to that family. As this takes place, Tarantino takes us under the house's floorboards, where five human beings, the Dreyfuses, are hiding. They are in terrible shape, and the narrator tells us how they have been hiding here for the past year. This creates immediate tension. As LaPadite lies about how the Dreyfuses supposedly moved to Spain, the reader knows the truth. Landa, searching for that truth, continues questioning LaPadite. Landa apparently finishes his job in LaPadite's house and asks LaPadite for another glass of milk before he leaves. As he drinks the milk and smokes his pipe, Landa begins talking about his success as the "Jew Hunter." As he talks about his theory regarding Jews and how they seem to degrade themselves to subhuman levels in order to survive, LaPadite begins to lose his cool. Landa, apparently sensing this, finally says: "You are sheltering enemies of the state, are you not? LaPadite agrees and Landa calls in his men from outside, who shoot at the floor and kill the whole family except Shoshanna.

Characters:

Perrier LaPadite is a simple milk-farmer in France. Because of the fact that he is hiding a Jewish family, the reader can infer that he is sympathetic to their cause. We learn that he speaks French and English well. He has a wife and three daughters who help him run the farm. While he handles Landa well at first, he eventually caves in and reveals his secret.

Colonel Hans Landa of the S.S., also known as "The Jew Hunter," is an incredibly dynamic character. He manipulates LaPadite perfectly into revealing his secret. His interrogation technique is outstanding. Instead of harassing him with questions, he goes around the main point and then finally lets it out when LaPadite has grown nervous. He handles English and French perfectly and even manages to kill the Dreyfuses without them knowing about it.

Landa uses several metaphors. One of them is an extended comparison of the Jewish race to rats. He talks about both species' ability to not only survive but thrive under terrible conditions. This helps in wearing down LaPadite.