By Peter Maddern
As much as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs have created the reputation and perhaps even the mythology of Quentin Tarantino, it may well be that his latest film, Django Unchained, is the one that will be regarded as his best (at least to date.) Recognition at the up-coming Academy Awards will certainly propel it further in that direction.
Bringing together the usual host of characters of quirky, dissonant characters possessed of explosive rage and violence, Django is a western set before the American Civil War that pays due homage to the traditions of the genre, with everything from Peckinpah’s blood, Blazing Saddles’ humour and Morricone’s music. Even the opening and closing titles are somewhat of a spoof of the early John Ford / Technicolour films.
But throughout it all are strands of humour and building tension that sit side by side with remarkable ease – the KKK head bag scene is as funny as the Blazing Saddles baked bean moment and perhaps not coincidentally filmed at a similar time of the day while the closing fight scenes would make even Samuel P wince.
But like Blazing Saddles, Django directly addresses the very political topic of the role of the black man (and woman) in the old slavery days. Where Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles) did so pretty much before not using the word ‘nigger’ had gone from being a statement of correctness to universally appropriate, here Tarantino rips open that scar and just never in the film’s 166 minutes allows it to start healing again. There is much in this film that will be deeply unsettling to the eye and ear of the suburban leftie and perhaps in that is the film’s greatest bravery and impact. (One suspects that the satisfactory resolution of all the violence at the end will prevent more mass indignation that has already been espoused.)
But Django is a rollicking good story with excellent performances by Christolph Waltz (as Dr King Schultz), Leonardo DiCaprio (as Calvin Candie) and Samuel L Jackson (as Stephen, Candie’s trusted house slave.) While long, there are only a few moments where it all starts to drag a little, one leaves the cinema with a real sense you have witnessed something extraordinary that has been an on-slaught on the senses including those of humour and sensibility.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
Recent Comments