25 In 25: My Favorite Films of the First Quarter Century - 2009

2009 is a year I don’t truly recall.  I had recently moved to Seattle and was in the “should I move back to New York” stage of my move. 

But I do remember the film that got me through it all… and not just then, today as well. 

It’s only happening twice in this exercise, where one film dominated my mind then and now, and ironically enough, they are both from Quentin Tarantino.  My favorite film of 2009, then and now and foreve,r is Inglorious Basterds!

There are a handful of near-perfect films in the world.  There is an even smaller handful of films I would suggest aspiring filmmakers use as references for certain aspects of filmmaking.  With Basterds, I have no issue suggesting it is both of those.  The opening scene alone should be shown to every film student for myriad reasons:

1.         The blocking.  This is where the characters are placed or move, which is usually in lockstep with how the camera is placed and moved throughout a scene. 

2.        The camera work.  Starting wide, on LaPadite as he chops wood.  Then, the daughters, working as well, drying sheets on the clothesline…  only to reveal the Nazis driving to the house in the distance.  And this scene lingers for four minutes, building tension with every cut, every angle, every movement, until we finally enter LaPadite’s home and the real chess game begins. 

3.        The acting.  Denis Melochet as LaPadite.  Christoph Walz as Landa.  Masterclass in acting with their eyes alone, but also their faces, their hands, and their words. 

Those are just a sample from the OPENING SCENE at how meticulous a filmmaker QT is and how everyone around him ups their game to his level.  Everyone buys into the vision.  And everyone doing so pays off. 

I watch this film a few times a year, and every time I see or hear or absorb something new.  That’s how I judge my favorite films… well, that and rewatchability.  And this one I will never tire of rewatching.