Django Unchained (5 Stars)

Who was that nigger?

I felt tempted to end the review there, just to annoy one of my regular readers. You know who you are. But I do have more to say about the film, so I'll carry on.

After going to see "The Life of Pi" yesterday, this is the second time in two days that I've been to the cinema. I don't think I've ever done that before. I may never do it again. I'm not a regular cinema-goer. It costs a lot, so I wait for special occasions. It has to be a film that I expect to like a lot, and also a film that's visually spectacular. "The Life of Pi" and "Django Unchained" both fulfilled these conditions.

As my readers already know, I'm a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. He can't do wrong in my eyes. Any new film he makes is a big excitement for me. But he can still surprise me. This film had more comedy to it than any film he's made so far. Even the shootout at Candyland was comical in the midst of the flying bullets.

I approached the film with some trepidation, I admit. Jamie Foxx is one of the worst actors I know, so I groaned when I heard he would have the lead role. I needn't have worried. Once again Tarantino has coaxed the best out of a second-rate actor. I've always disliked John Travolta, but in "Pulp Fiction" he was perfect. And what about Michael Madsen? He's never made a good film, except for those directed by Tarantino. In my opinion this is the best film of Jamie Foxx's career, and he'll never reach this height again. Unless, of course, he stars in Tarantino's next movie.

I'm sure Tarantino had "Blazing Saddles" in mind when he wrote the film, but he doesn't push it. The references to "The Wild Bunch" and "Birth of a Nation" are stronger. There even seemed to be an incestuous nod to Tarantino's own "Kill Bill" in the Candyland shootout. Maybe my readers can point out other film references. Please leave comments.

There's been a lot of controversy about the use of the word "nigger" in the film. Supposedly it's used 113 times. The alleged overuse of this word has led some people to call Quentin Tarantino racist. Others have said that he has no feeling for the suffering of blacks in America, so his portrayal of them is heartless. The first statement is obviously wrong. The film is set in a racist society, so racist words are used. It isn't a racist film, it's a film about racists. There's a big difference. And the black guy wins in the end. So to call Tarantino a racist is just ridiculous. As for Tarantino not having any feeling for black suffering, the same could be said of any white man. But Tarantino is a director who accepts input from his actors. Whatever he lacked, due to his skin colour, has been added by Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, and maybe by other black actors in the cast.

I've had the idea that I might make a whole month of four word film reviews. Like my review for "Boxhagener Platz" and the review I almost made for this film. The only problem is that it might be too difficult. In the case of these two films the words just came to me naturally. They were so obvious as a mini-review. I might not always have the inspiration. But let's see. I'll tentatively name March my Four Word Review Month and see how it goes.