While ‘Django Unchained’ took a very postmodern look at the Western genre and thought about it from point to point, ‘The Hateful 8’ is much slower and – in the best sense of the word – more challenging. Quentin Tarantino’s The famous snow western is available on Amazon Prime Video until January 12.
That’s what ‘The Hateful 8’ is about
Somewhere in snowy Wyoming, a few years after the end of the Civil War: A stagecoach rides toward the town of Red Rock. On board are grim bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell), his captive Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and two men who boarded the ship along the way: ex-soldier Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). ). ), who is believed to be the sheriff of Red Rock.
However, a heavy snowstorm forces the group to take refuge in a lonely hut. Bob (Demian Bichir), also known as ‘Marc the Mexican’, the obscure Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), the cowboy Joe Gage (Michael Madsen) and the old Confederate general Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern) are already hiding there. weather. Tensions quickly rise in the group – and soon everyone has to fear for their lives…
Exceptional and uncompromising
Anyone who has seen “Inglorious Basterds” will remember the opening, in which Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) investigates a French dairy farmer to find out if he is hiding Jews in his house. “The Hateful 8” can be brilliantly compared to this beautiful scene – only stretched to a running time of almost three hours.
The focus here – as with every Quentin Tarantino film – is on the dialogue. But never before has the cult director with the striking jawline celebrated dialogue sequences as extensively as in “The Hateful 8” – until finally the obligatory bursts of violence take place, which turns the finale into a real carnage transform, as we have come to expect from Tarantino.
In the official FILMSTARTS review, which awards “The Hateful 8” 4 out of 5 stars, author Björn Becher comes to the following conclusion: “With this western consisting of two very different halves, Quentin Tarantino once again proves why he is one of the most special and uncompromising filmmakers of our time. – although he doesn’t make it easy for his audience either.”
Yes, you certainly need to be patient to fully appreciate the quality of “The Hateful 8,” but the magnificent images by cinematographer Robert Richardson and the score by THE Western composer legend par excellence, Ennio Morricone, are enough to make Western enthusiasts happy * makes your heart beat faster. “The Hateful 8” is particularly exciting because Tarantino’s development is made very clear here.
“The Hateful 8 is the most political film yet from a director whom his detractors accuse of being only interested in his cinematic worlds and downplaying real issues.”, is the criticism. Never before has Tarantino dealt with unequal power relations between the sexes, authority violence and the oppression of minorities in such a mature and nuanced way – all against a simmering post-Civil War backdrop.
‘The Hateful 8’ increases the tension as the whodunit plot becomes increasingly compact and not only contains one of the best flashbacks ever, but also the extreme brutality is mercilessly unleashed. Here too the cast is in top form, which, in the wake of the juicy excesses of violence, once again underlines that Tarantino is simply an excellent actor.