Quentin Tarantino has never really played by the rules over the course of his career as a filmmaker. From his early films, which have since become modern classics such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, to his recent work such as Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino has proven he’s not afraid to take risks, or push the boundaries when demonstrating his artistry. In Django Unchained, Tarantino has undeniable created a vehicle to indulge in wild fantasy to such an excess, that he may need a stint in rehab to recover.
Django Unchained is a re-imagining of Sergio Corbucci’s popular 1966 spaghetti western revenge film Django, which starred Franco Nero in the titular role. Keeping in line with the director’s unorthodox style, Django Unchained attempts to combine the ambiance and style of a classic spaghetti western, with the delicate topic of slavery in the Deep South just before the Civil War. Tarantino essentially rips to shreds all history books on slavery and decides to tell a somewhat more whimsical tale.
This film has all of the trademarks of a true Tarantino film; the violence is brutal and uncompromising. There are some great stylish action sequences all set to a pulsating eclectic soundtrack, which again in true Tarantino style has everything from hip hop to Wild West classics. There are cute prolonged dialogues, funny anecdotes, everything you have come to expect from a Tarantino film is in Django Unchained - if you are a fan of the director, you will no doubt be impressed with this fantasy tale.
However, Django Unchained is somewhat of a dichotomy. For all the things that make this film entertaining (the action, comedy, fun, fantasy), it’s fairly uncomfortable viewing. This film is essentially about one of the darkest periods in the history of mankind and the film is far too jovial and entertaining to be a film about slavery; a gruesome, brutal, disgusting time in history. Whilst audiences eat their popcorn and marvel at the director’s cute use of dialogue, enjoy the comedic one-liners and slow-mo action scenes with Rick Ross music blasting in the background. Will they really walk away with a genuine insight into slavery?
Of course not. Audiences may leave entertained to a certain degree, but at what cost? Tarantino is a visionary director, but as to whether this film comes close to resembling anything like a genuine slavery story – that’s debatable. Yes, there are graphic scenes depicting the brutality that slaves endured, but graphic brutality is a given in any Tarantino film and isn’t unique to Django Unchained.
Whilst one may be of the opinion that Django Unchained is supposed to be a story of fiction, the fact that Tarantino has chosen to make light of such a serious subject is where this film falters. There are a number of scenes that are intended to bring entertainment but instead come across as highly inappropriate. I find it hard to laugh at a bumbling group of KKK clan members who are about to embark on killing a person simply because of the colour of their skin, but get sidetracked into arguing over the fact that they can’t see through the holes in the white sheets they have placed over their heads. This odd scene, which featured an equally as odd cameo from Jonah Hill (Superbad), came across as unfunny and awkward, and could of quite easily fitted into an episode of, say, The Office.
From a technical standing, Django Unchained is a good film and contains all the key ingredients that you would expect from Quentin Tarantino – in that respect he has succeeded in making an entertaining film. However if you look at this film morally and ethically, I would have say Django Unchained simply left a bad taste in my mouth. If this film was simply a spaghetti western revenge film and the slavery backdrop was non-existent, then I would be hailing Django Unchained as another Tarantino classic. However whilst this western, slavery, fantasy adventure film has all the hallmarks of a Tarantino classic, unfortunately the director didn’t take enough time to consider the gravity in trying to re-write the history of slavery for entertainment purposes.
Whilst Django Unchained is a wildly fanciful and unique concept, it should have perhaps stayed within the realms of Tarantino’s vivid imagination.
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9 Comments
Stop nitpicking,it wont make you sound cool.
I agree. The latest QT movies left me disappointed. He is hailed as such a genius yet his movies lack any real emotions and believable characters. He is just happy to make pulp movies with little ambition. If it wasn’t for his visual flair and star studded cast, his movies would be no more than “straight to DVD” movies.
PS: the scene with the arguing KKK left was really unnecessary and unfunny.
i really don’t see why you would go see a movie for an accurate portrayal of “one of the most brutal times in history.” if that’s what you were expecting then you should have watched the history channel. yeah, there were some uncomfortable moments in this movie. i watched it in a theater that was half caucasian and half african american. everyone laughed and loved it from my perspective. you obviously don’t know tarantino if you think this is inappropriate. let’s go back to pulp fiction where there is an entire conversation about “dead n**** storage.” if you didn’t like well so be it. i wish someone would write about how zero dark thirty is a complete misleaded failure from its trailer to its content.
The history channel is too busy airing reruns of Pawn Stars and Ice Road Truckers to run a real documentary
I don’t see how Tarantino was supposedly making light of the subject matter. We as the audience are seeing slavery and the time period through the eyes of Waltz’s King Schultz. He is aware of the everyday horrors of slavery in the same way as much of the modern western world is. He knows that slaves are treated as property, whipped, and branded. He despises slavery, but even he does not fully grasp the extent of the brutality. Slave fights, hot boxes, castration, and using dogs to take lives are beyond his realm of comprehension just as it is for most modern audiences. What starts off as shock to the treatment of those around him transitions to anger as his dealings with the despicable Calvin Candie continue. Tarantino is using Schultz to lead the audience at a pace they can handle into the truly terrible, and allows the audiences own building frustration to be released by Shultz’s actions.
There are also two very different types of violence in the film that separate the fantastical and the harsh truths. There is the more cartoon violence of the big set pieces. Bright red kill bill style gore fills the whole set during the large shootout at Candie Land. The violence against slaves is treated as “real world”. There is nothing extraneous in those scenes.
As for the humor in the film, this is still a movie meant for consumption by an audience. The humor is never at the expense of the slaves. The only time its at the expense of Django is when he first appears in that ridiculous blue ensemble. In my opinion the humor balances out the film and allows it to be enjoyed. If the film only showed the horrors of slavery and Django still got his revenge, without any humor, it could still have been a great film. It would be a truly unpleasant experience though.
cant believe i wasted my time reading this, i agree with meltman. This movie did everything it set out to do and then some. Take your wadded panties and stay home.
I thought the separate types of violence in the film did a great job of separating the real issues from the usual Tarantino plot point. For instance the scene with the dogs was a real issue and isn’t stylized or glorified but Django’s shoot out at Candieland is highly stylized “movie” violence
I am african american and I enjoyed this movie!!!! For the first time after watching a slave movie I wasnt angry. I actually felt sorry for the buffoons in the slave trade.
FYI, Django Unchained is NOT a re-imagining of the original 1966 DJANGO. Back in 1966, when Django was a success, other Italian directors made a slew of “unofficial sequels” to it. (Said trend continued into the 70′s, and not just in the Western genre.) Quentin has said that Django Unchained is one of those “unofficial sequels”. Also, I have seen the film, with a mixed-race audience, and there wasn’t any offense taken by ANYONE…..