Film - Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Director - Quentin Tarantino
Scene - The Jew Hunter (Opening Scene) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig0815OI9Lg
Spoiler Alert!
When we talk about attraction, we often act according to two principles - the reciprocity principle (eg. people like people who like them), widely discussed in social psychology, and the uncertainty principle (eg. people like people who might like them).
Suspense in films concerns itself with the latter. What drives most films is closure - a quest, an unresolved problem, will the character manage to achieve his goals? However, the onerous task here is to periodically reveal enough information to keep audiences engaged, something that Quentin Tarantino has undoubtedly mastered.
The scene, almost twenty minutes long, begins with LaPadite's seemingly mundane day being disturbed by the arrival of German soldiers. LaPadite does not seem surprised by their arrival, though, as he puts on a calm face and signals his daughters to head inside.
Tarantino already establishes the existing power dynamic through his closeup of Colonel Hans Landa's firm handshake. However, it is not until Landa grabs LaPadite's daughter by the hand that this dynamic begins to unsettle us.
We now begin to realise that Landa is here to cause harm.
This is followed by the detective requesting for a glass of milk instead of wine. A peculiar but harmless request, we aren't forced to read much into it until we see Landa gulp the entire glass in one go. Tarantino has now begun to reveal the nature of the harm Landa is about to cause.
Through the simple use of milk, Tarantino portrays that Landa has no inhibitions; he's a brute and cannot be stopped from taking what he wants. Who drinks a glass of plain milk in one go?
As the scene progresses, Tarantino gradually reveals the reason for Landa's visit. Despite his loud body language and his surface level politeness, LaPadite's composed facade remains, giving us some respite. Although he is powerless, his cooperation leads us to believe that he has nothing to hide.
The respite, however, does not last for long as Tarantino intentionally breaks one of the most essential rules of filmmaking - the 180 degree rule - whilst LaPadite discusses the Dreyfuses.
According to StudioBinder, "the 180 degree rule sets an imaginary axis between two characters. By keeping the camera on one side of this imaginary axis, the characters maintain the same left/right relationship to each other."
Here, breaking the rule or "crossing the line" has been intentionally done to disorient the viewers.
It's almost as if LaPadite's excessive knowledge of the Dreyfuses has lead to the scene taking a new turn.
The wait does not last for long, and Tarantino confirms our worst fears immediately after, by slowly revealing the Dreyfuses beneath the floorboards. The entire scene revolved around this, and Tarantino chooses the perfect time for his reveal. This acts as a breath of fresh air into an already tense scene. Instead of revealing this at the end, Tarantino now burdens his viewers with this information, forcing them to sit through an extremely uncomfortable conversation and drastically rising the stakes.
As we watch Landa complete his questioning and getting ready to leave, our short-lived relief is crushed when he asks for another glass of milk. The metaphorical discussion that follows only indicates that we're not ready for what is to come. Landa, the Jew Hunter, boasts about his nickname and has already established himself as someone that lives up to it.
We know he knows.
LaPadite knows he knows.
Tarantino has managed to reveal his information gradually and stylishly, and we're still longing for more.
Once he lets the above knowledge sink in, he jumps from answering "Does Landa know?" to "What will he do, now that he knows?" In a sudden, straightforward exchange, Tarantino kills any doubt regarding the former question, thus adding the finishing touches to one of Hollywood's most gripping scenes.
What makes this scene an interesting study is the timing and fashion in which Tarantino reveals information. It's noteworthy, how a distant exchange between a dairy farmer and a Nazi detective is built up to a point where we are at the edge of our seats. Through Christoph Waltz' irresistible acting, Tarantino plays mind games with his viewers, occasionally teasing them.
We are completely at the writer's mercy by the end, begging for a worthwhile resolution.
Tarantino does not fail to give us one.
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