[critical] Django Unchained

In 1858, in the South of the United States, some time before the Civil war, a former dentist, German-turned-bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) frees Django (Jamie Foxx), a slave, and the form to allow him to free his wife (Kerry Washington) from the hands of Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), a rich and terrible landlord.

Author’s Note

[rating:8/10]

• Release Date : January 16, 2013

• Directed by Quentin Tarantino

• Film american

• With Jamie Foxx, Chritoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, Quentin Tarantino, Franco Nero

• Duration : 2h44min

• Original title : Django Unchained

• Trailer :

After a Boulevard of Death quite maligned, Quentin Tarantino is back with more success with a war film, Inglourious Basterds, in 2009, when one could discover an excellent Christoph Waltz in despicable and fascinating nazi fighter in the face of an actor used against job redneck, Brad Pitt, and find this subtle mix of long lines, scenes, shock and violence and homages to films where the writer / director excels. It is clear that the recipe that had worked is re-used shamelessly in Django Unchained, where the western-spaghetti replaces the film of war !

Christoph Waltz burst onto the screen again with the Dr. King Schultz character also cultivated and relaxed with the violence that Colonel Hans Landa, but here much more humane and paternalistic, particularly toward a freed slave named Django played by a Jamie Foxx extremely sober (and sometimes deleted in some sequences where he is yet present).

The character is however, of course, essential, not because it gives its name to the film (tribute to Django 1966 Sergio Corbucci), but because he is the pivot in the main originality of this long film which is to treat of slavery to the end of the Nineteenth century, a period still sensitive in the United States, proof of this are the controversy that erupted in the theatrical release there with Spike Lee, who refuses to go see a movie citing it as the word negro, and the withdrawal of the sale of figurines derived that would be an offence according to some associations. The film denounces the opposite of how extremely violent this dark period of american history.

The traditional motivations greedy heroes of western-spaghetti quickly gave way to those, just as traditional among Tarantino (Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds…), revenge. The object of this revenge is revealed in the second part of the movie personified in a duo formed by Leonardo DiCaprio, excellent even when it surjoue abusément the owner of a plantation in Mississippi named Calvin Candie, and Samuel L. Jackson’s unexpected and tasty in its role as villainous in the service of Candia, although on the other hand much more customary of the films of the director since Pulp Fiction.

Django Unchained combines perfectly also the references to the spaghetti westerns such as for example the presence of the interpreter of Django in the original film, Franco Nero, who responds to Jamie Foxx, who explains to him how to pronounce his name : “I know.” It is also found in the tics of realization as zooms, fast and above all, in the choice of the soundtrack, always key in the director’s filmography, a blend of Ennio Morricone and the music of the film of 1966 by Luis Bacalov including the theme song of the beginning (but not only !). Quentin Tarantino also enjoys drag items that are unique in its blend standing genres : it adds to the soundtrack of classical music (Verdi), hip-hop (“Unchained” by James Brown and 2Pac), but also Johnny Cash, it uses its processes sanguinolants close a series B of yesteryear to defuse the scenes are ultra-violent (especially the final sequence in the house), he makes mention to his characters numerous references to popular (Siegfried, The Three Musketeers, etc) and gliding homage to the blaxploitation with the wife of Django named Broomhilda von Shaft, as the hero Shaft of the cult films of this period and of which a remake was released in 2000 with… Samuel L. Jackson in the title role !

We find in Django Unchained that Tarantino was able to give us best in her previous films, and which characterises his way of seeing cinema. Similarly, we find a recent trend of a return to this era of western that you can see at the cinema (True Grit, by the Coen brothers for example) and especially on television (Hell on Wheels, Copper, Deadwood, etc). I just wish that the script of Django is to demonstrate little originality in the end in his construction (very linear for Tarantino), while the latter has been rewarded recently at the Golden Globes and is nominated for an academy award. The bottom of the message “policy” here has somewhat replaced the boldness of the structure. The film even leaves place to some lengths at times because of its place quite predictable.

Django Unchained is an excellent film, with personality, references, know-how, atmosphere and soundtrack badass first choice. I just don’t know yet if I can already consider it as a great Tarantino film.