Quentin Tarantino seems to like using food-related scenes to create tension. For example, the opening breakfast scene in Reservoir Dogs (1992), the diner hold-up scene in Pulp Fiction (1994), and the Candyland dinner scene in Django Unchained (2012). He takes an idea of delicious food nourishing the soul (and tummy) and turns it into a contrasting background for something totally vicious and violent.The “apple strudel” scene from Inglourious Basterds (2009) is one such iconic movie moment. No, it doesn’t have any shouting, killing, or threats. None of that. In fact, it’s a nice and warm atmosphere. There is apple strudel with cream and un verre de lait for the lady. The gentleman at the table is polite.And yet, beneath every bite of the apple strudel festers the truth—the man is a sadistic killer who may or may not know the lady sitting across from him is the one he is hunting for.This is where Tarantino does what he does best: squeezing out the farcical politeness until it slaps you across the face and reminds you it doesn’t need your reciprocal smile; it needs blood.Setting Up the SceneThe Power Dynamic Before the Dessert ArrivesAt the start of the film, SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) interrogates a dairy farmer who is hiding a Jewish family under his floor. Landa kills the entire family, except one, Shosanna (Mélanie Laurent), who escapes. Landa promises to find her.Three years later, Shosanna is hiding out under a different name, Emmanuelle Mimieux, and operates a cinema in...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday