Inglourious Basterds opens with a tense scene on a rural farmhouse in Nazi-occupied France in 1941. SS Colonel Hans Landa, played by Christoph Waltz, arrives politely at the home of French dairy farmer LaPadite. He asks for a glass of milk and starts chatting casually about the village’s Jewish families.https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EB%B0%94%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B0%EC%A6%88:%20%EA%B1%B0%EC%B9%9C%20%EB%85%80%EC%84%9D%EB%93%A4
Landa calls his visit a simple formality to track down any hidden Jews. He questions LaPadite about three Jewish families that have gone missing from the area. Then he brings up the Dreyfuses, the one family not yet accounted for. LaPadite stays calm at first, sipping milk with Landa and answering carefully.https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EB%B0%94%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B0%EC%A6%88:%20%EA%B1%B0%EC%B9%9C%20%EB%85%80%EC%84%9D%EB%93%A4
The mood shifts when Landa compares Jews to rats hiding from hunters. He bites down on his pipe and switches to speaking fluent French, pressing LaPadite harder. Sweat beads on the farmer’s face as he admits the Dreyfus family is hiding under his floorboards. Landa’s charm turns chilling; he knows the truth all along.https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EB%B0%94%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B0%EC%A6%88:%20%EA%B1%B0%EC%B9%9C%20%EB%85%80%EC%84%9D%EB%93%A4
Landa calls in his soldiers waiting outside. They rip up the floor and find the Dreyfuses crammed below. Gunfire erupts as the family tries to flee. Young Shosanna Dreyfus escapes through the woods, running for her life while Landa watches. He lets her go, almost playfully, yelling that he already have her name.https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EB%B0%94%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B0%EC%A6%88:%20%EA%B1%B0%EC%B9%9C%20%EB%85%80%EC%84%9D%EB%93%A4
This scene sets up the movie’s revenge theme. It lasts about 20 minutes with no music or cuts, building dread through talk alone. Landa’s nickname, the Jew Hunter, shines here as he toys with his prey. The farmhouse feels like a cozy trap, showing how Nazis hid evil behind manners.https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/quentin-tarantino/inglourious-basterds
Shosanna’s survival drives her later plot. The scene echoes the film’s violence born from hate, much like the Basterds’ own brutal mission.https://sharksavewriters.com/inglourious-basterds-film-analysis/
Sources
https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EB%B0%94%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B0%EC%A6%88:%20%EA%B1%B0%EC%B9%9C%20%EB%85%80%EC%84%9D%EB%93%A4
https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/quentin-tarantino/inglourious-basterds
https://sharksavewriters.com/inglourious-basterds-film-analysis/
