It is still too early to get a complete handle on the overall reaction at Cannes, but there are some early indications that Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds just might live up to all the hype. Although most early reviews agree that this is no Pulp Fiction, it did really grab the audience's attention and feels like something new, "a spaghetti war movie," as one review calls it. Or perhaps, as cast member Eli Roth, who is featured beating down Nazis with baseball bats, put it at the post-screening press conference, "160 minutes of 'Kosher porn.'"
One surprise highlight appears to be the standout performance of Christoph Waltz, a German TV star who plays SS officer Colonel Hans Landa. Tarantino had given hints of just how important he was to the production earlier, saying in interviews that he had considered scrapping the whole movie if he couldn't find just the right actor for the part. One BBC review is already suggesting that he may well be a contender for this year's best actor prize.
In the clips released to coincide with the Cannes opening, there is a lot more dialogue than action, offering a spirited preview of the tone -- and accents -- of the movie. One clip even features a provocative voice-over narrative by Colonel Landa "The Jew Hunter," backed by a whistling tune in an obvious homage to Clint Eastwood's series of spaghetti westerns.