Shoshanna speaking English at the end was actually Mélanie Laurent's idea, not Tarantino's. It also opened an alternative interpretation: English was the language that killed Shoshanna's family -- Landa intentionally spoke it with LaPadite to obfuscate their true conversation -- So her speaking English before burning down the entire Nazi high-command was just returning the favor.
As a German it's always interesting to watch WW2 movies from the allied perspective. If you watch the German dubbed version you'll understand everything and everyone speaks Standart high German. Or you watch the original version, still understanding everyone but at least the allies have accents. 😂
I am German but luckily watched this movie in English because all of these details just get lost when the Americans for example speak english. Great video and you definitely deserve more attention!
great video! the last point about shosanna speaking english at the end of nation’s pride is a good one. tarantino’s fantasy of cinema defeating evil, hence the delivery being in english for him (and us english speakers) to understand and indulge in. yes it would have been more accurate story-wise to have her speak french or german, but it probably would have had a different effect overall in that regard
It sounds like a few other people in the comments have already stated this, but I always interpreted Shoshonna's choice of English at the end of the movie to be a direct call back to Landa speaking English at the start of the movie. Just as her family died scared and confused, unable to understand the language being spoken, so too does the audience of German-speaking Nazis die as an Angry, English speech blares over their speakers
When watching this movie, I did not realize how language was manipulating the viewer, but I for sure experienced the intended result. I learned a lot from this video. Thanks.
Very interesting video! I noticed the thing with the subtitles too and have also seen it in another movie (Sound of Metal with sign language). Inglorious Basterds is definitely a movie that has to be watched in its original version!
Good analysis again. You are mistaken about the 'zero' hand gesture however. It means 'ok' over there as well. Also, Shawshanna uses the hand gesture to drive a point, it's something common to do, I do it all the time. There's no connection to zero = the German here. I think you're reaching here.
Hey first off loved the vid! but it made me think about why Shoshana choses English at the end. As mentioned in the beginning, Landa switch to English to avoid being understood by the hidden jews, yet Shoshana is the only one who escaped. So could she understand English in the first scene, making her able to escape?
I've heard other interpretations which all sound equally plausible to me, so my take is definitely not the only possible answer. It could be her nod to Landa, who spoke English in the first scene, and for all she knows he's in the theater watching the movie.
A superb explanation of why subtitles are present in some scenes and not in others. The only nit I have to pick is the asymmetric use of the 4 modern national flags (Germany, France, The United States, The United Kingdom) to represent the 3 most significant languages (German, French, English) within the film. It's still a useful visualization for emphasis of the diversity of languages in the film though. Also, why no love for Italian but 2x the love for English?
Good point! The “Italian scene” is my favorite of the whole movie. I agree…the modern day flags are somewhat “out of place” but hopefully it makes sense within the context of the video essay. Thanks for the feedback on it.
@@LanguageFilm Haha but the more era-appropriate German (Nazi Party) flag would not make the algorithm very happy. Maybe the black/white/red German flag then?
I'll be honest. This is my least favorite Tarantino film mostly because there's so many different languages being spoken that I had trouble keeping up with the plot. Also there's just too many world war two films anyway and it's really overdone in my opinion.
I could see that happening for a lot of viewers and a reason why I think it was particularly bold of Tarantino to do it anyway. Thanks for the response!
