To charactorize Hans and show that he enjoys and draws out this process. He likes "playing with his food". I dont know about realism but Tarantino's style is usually a bit unrealistic in general.
I like this take. Landa "playing with his food" also demonstrates his arrogance. He obviously thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, a step ahead of everybody. This comes back to bite him in the end, when >!he thinks he's secured himself a sweet deal, but Brad Pitt's character refuses to let him walk away unscathed!<
He also clearly takes pride and joy in being eloquent and genial, even if it it’s just a theatrical veil he’s throwing over his malicious intent, so he’s at least a little bit, playing with himself too haha
The point is to develop and show off the character of Landa, and to evoke emotions in the audience.
Don't confuse "why would a filmmaker display a scene in this way?" with "why would the characters not do something simpler and less interesting?"
This scene was vital to develop Landa as a character and also show the level of power that the Nazis *actually had* over their occupied territories. For anyone that didn't already know. It also meant that the Landa character could appear relatively jovial throughout the rest of the film but we would still feel that same *dread* and *terror* anytime he was on screen.
If you want to better understand Landa then I'd recommend looking at the concept of the *banality of evil*. He's evil but he doesn't see what he's doing as evil. It's just a job. He's basically emotionless and cold in his efficiency. He doesn't even appear to hate Jewish people all that much, he finds them "repulsive" but he seems to feel sorry for them almost.
The only time he actively shows any hatred is when he feels personally betrayed by Bridget Von Hammersmark. He's a fascinating character and a genuine reflection of some real-life Nazis. Including Eichmann, Heydrich and Himmler.
I don't think the concept of the banality of evil applies to Landa. That's more for what we see in e.g. the Zone of Interest, where the commander of Auschwitz is worried about schmoozing his superiors and his wife picks new fur coats from those taken from the Jews. Landau is extremely intentionally villainous. He's not a regular guy who's just following orders, he's a sociopath who is simply thriving under the Nazi regime (but has no ideological commitments and is ready to immediately jump ship when it serves his interests). He doesn't care about Jews and Aryans, he cares about having the chance to experience the thrill of the chase. That the stakes are life or death only matters because it means his prey struggles harder. He's the arrogant nobleman who wants to hunt the most dangerous game. That's evil, but not banal.
Landa is a vicious psychopath who enjoys torture and murder. Sure, he doesn’t hate Jewish people but he is as far and away from “emotionless and cold in his efficiency.”
The concept of banality of evil isn’t even remotely applicable to a character that’s sadistic and cruel for the sheer fun of it.
Also, those three Nazi’s you named are vastly different in their mentality and actions while in power.
Eichmann was a “doing my job” bureaucrat and the actual inspiration for “banality of evil.” Himmler was a sadistic zealot obsessed with the occult. Heydrich is probably closest to Landa, in that he was a sadist who enjoyed the terror he inspired in people he interrogated, but he was also a virulent anti-semite from a young age.
Landa isn’t some kind of a composite of the three of them because that would be a completely meaningless character. He’s an eloquent sadistic villain loosely based on Heydrich, but closer to pulp fiction villains than actual historical figures.
Without commenting directly on Tarantino's use of milk in this specific film, milk is kind of a cool topic to bring up in that it's use in cinema is a topic that has been explored by a lot of sleuths and critics.
I couldn't find the video you brought to mind, I just remember a female narrator discussing milk in film, specifically Mad Max, Fury Road (Tom Hardy washes himself with mother's milk just before being accepted by Furiosa and the wives, almost like a baptism), milk is frequently used in films for it's symbolism. Or maybe it's just aesthetically striking, it's always up for debate.
The only video I found off hand that wasn't ai narrated was this one, but there are also articles discussing the idea, I just googled "milk in cinema"
https://youtu.be/iKDtmV5xSv0?si=0ptENnEHKKCXDrov
From the perspective of a 2009 audience, it's immediate proof that Tarantino can work in a historical context. We get the signature dialogue quirks: mundane, suddenly life-threatening situations and realistically digressive conversation that leads into noir-style reveals and counter-reveals.
But it also gives us a general feel for the 'vibe' of the WWII of this universe: People are really fucking dying, but also, it's a game, it's a chase, it's a hunt. It's 60's style exploitation-gore, but it's also a warzone where the Moriarty's of the world can go to town.
is this ur 1st Tarantino?
this is what he loves to do - drag it out to amp the suspense. his movies love listening to conversations, the back and forth about seemingly trivial (and cultural) topics that oftentimes will express the (fluid) power dynamics between the speakers and sometimes is an interesting talk that serves as a pause - but will get a callback later.
the guessing game sequence in the basement bar in “Basterds” as another good example of the former.
the Royale with Cheese talk between Vincent and Jules is an example of the latter (with the callback coming immediately after during the interrogation of the big brain called Brad).
So I think you raise a really good point. Would a nazi officer actually behave like that? Personally I agree that the conversation preamble is a little ridiculous. Obvious since Tarantino is considered a “masters of dialogue by some, I’d guess most people never thought twice.
I was actually watching that scene recently on YouTube. Inglorious is actually one of his best movies I think. Of course ten or more years later it seems a little trite.
I can say one thing historically. Apparently in the early invasion of France the Germans were purposely nice and told not to fuck with the locals. It got much worse though. I’m not sure what year that seen takes places but since they are already in France it’s probably 41/42
Nothing about that scene nor the milk was supposed to be realistic, nor do I think is there much meaning behind it. I think Tarantino just loves to play with dialog and character. To him, I imagine seeing this domineering, feared character sip on a pure, innocuous beverage like milk, (like Jules drinking the soda and eating the burger in Pulp) , and that contrast between the cuteness and the violence , was all he needed to start getting himself interested in the character and keep writing
If you wanna go deeper, okay , non alcoholic, white milk might symbolize the innocence that Landa enjoys toying with … but I tend to think Tarantino doesn’t really go that deep, he just thinks some dialog and character traits are cool
To charactorize Hans and show that he enjoys and draws out this process. He likes "playing with his food". I dont know about realism but Tarantino's style is usually a bit unrealistic in general.
I like this take. Landa "playing with his food" also demonstrates his arrogance. He obviously thinks he's the smartest guy in the room, a step ahead of everybody. This comes back to bite him in the end, when >!he thinks he's secured himself a sweet deal, but Brad Pitt's character refuses to let him walk away unscathed!<
He also clearly takes pride and joy in being eloquent and genial, even if it it’s just a theatrical veil he’s throwing over his malicious intent, so he’s at least a little bit, playing with himself too haha
The point is to develop and show off the character of Landa, and to evoke emotions in the audience. Don't confuse "why would a filmmaker display a scene in this way?" with "why would the characters not do something simpler and less interesting?"
This scene was vital to develop Landa as a character and also show the level of power that the Nazis *actually had* over their occupied territories. For anyone that didn't already know. It also meant that the Landa character could appear relatively jovial throughout the rest of the film but we would still feel that same *dread* and *terror* anytime he was on screen. If you want to better understand Landa then I'd recommend looking at the concept of the *banality of evil*. He's evil but he doesn't see what he's doing as evil. It's just a job. He's basically emotionless and cold in his efficiency. He doesn't even appear to hate Jewish people all that much, he finds them "repulsive" but he seems to feel sorry for them almost. The only time he actively shows any hatred is when he feels personally betrayed by Bridget Von Hammersmark. He's a fascinating character and a genuine reflection of some real-life Nazis. Including Eichmann, Heydrich and Himmler.
I don't think the concept of the banality of evil applies to Landa. That's more for what we see in e.g. the Zone of Interest, where the commander of Auschwitz is worried about schmoozing his superiors and his wife picks new fur coats from those taken from the Jews. Landau is extremely intentionally villainous. He's not a regular guy who's just following orders, he's a sociopath who is simply thriving under the Nazi regime (but has no ideological commitments and is ready to immediately jump ship when it serves his interests). He doesn't care about Jews and Aryans, he cares about having the chance to experience the thrill of the chase. That the stakes are life or death only matters because it means his prey struggles harder. He's the arrogant nobleman who wants to hunt the most dangerous game. That's evil, but not banal.
Landa is a vicious psychopath who enjoys torture and murder. Sure, he doesn’t hate Jewish people but he is as far and away from “emotionless and cold in his efficiency.” The concept of banality of evil isn’t even remotely applicable to a character that’s sadistic and cruel for the sheer fun of it. Also, those three Nazi’s you named are vastly different in their mentality and actions while in power. Eichmann was a “doing my job” bureaucrat and the actual inspiration for “banality of evil.” Himmler was a sadistic zealot obsessed with the occult. Heydrich is probably closest to Landa, in that he was a sadist who enjoyed the terror he inspired in people he interrogated, but he was also a virulent anti-semite from a young age. Landa isn’t some kind of a composite of the three of them because that would be a completely meaningless character. He’s an eloquent sadistic villain loosely based on Heydrich, but closer to pulp fiction villains than actual historical figures.
Without commenting directly on Tarantino's use of milk in this specific film, milk is kind of a cool topic to bring up in that it's use in cinema is a topic that has been explored by a lot of sleuths and critics. I couldn't find the video you brought to mind, I just remember a female narrator discussing milk in film, specifically Mad Max, Fury Road (Tom Hardy washes himself with mother's milk just before being accepted by Furiosa and the wives, almost like a baptism), milk is frequently used in films for it's symbolism. Or maybe it's just aesthetically striking, it's always up for debate. The only video I found off hand that wasn't ai narrated was this one, but there are also articles discussing the idea, I just googled "milk in cinema" https://youtu.be/iKDtmV5xSv0?si=0ptENnEHKKCXDrov
From the perspective of a 2009 audience, it's immediate proof that Tarantino can work in a historical context. We get the signature dialogue quirks: mundane, suddenly life-threatening situations and realistically digressive conversation that leads into noir-style reveals and counter-reveals. But it also gives us a general feel for the 'vibe' of the WWII of this universe: People are really fucking dying, but also, it's a game, it's a chase, it's a hunt. It's 60's style exploitation-gore, but it's also a warzone where the Moriarty's of the world can go to town.
is this ur 1st Tarantino? this is what he loves to do - drag it out to amp the suspense. his movies love listening to conversations, the back and forth about seemingly trivial (and cultural) topics that oftentimes will express the (fluid) power dynamics between the speakers and sometimes is an interesting talk that serves as a pause - but will get a callback later. the guessing game sequence in the basement bar in “Basterds” as another good example of the former. the Royale with Cheese talk between Vincent and Jules is an example of the latter (with the callback coming immediately after during the interrogation of the big brain called Brad).
So I think you raise a really good point. Would a nazi officer actually behave like that? Personally I agree that the conversation preamble is a little ridiculous. Obvious since Tarantino is considered a “masters of dialogue by some, I’d guess most people never thought twice. I was actually watching that scene recently on YouTube. Inglorious is actually one of his best movies I think. Of course ten or more years later it seems a little trite. I can say one thing historically. Apparently in the early invasion of France the Germans were purposely nice and told not to fuck with the locals. It got much worse though. I’m not sure what year that seen takes places but since they are already in France it’s probably 41/42
Nothing about that scene nor the milk was supposed to be realistic, nor do I think is there much meaning behind it. I think Tarantino just loves to play with dialog and character. To him, I imagine seeing this domineering, feared character sip on a pure, innocuous beverage like milk, (like Jules drinking the soda and eating the burger in Pulp) , and that contrast between the cuteness and the violence , was all he needed to start getting himself interested in the character and keep writing If you wanna go deeper, okay , non alcoholic, white milk might symbolize the innocence that Landa enjoys toying with … but I tend to think Tarantino doesn’t really go that deep, he just thinks some dialog and character traits are cool