A black man carried like cattle with chained feet & bare back doesn’t sound like a movie hero. But 10 minutes after the movie & you know he is no ordinary slave! The premise may seem very ordinary, almost a bollywood romantic movie. A man freed from slavery by a man with selfish interests, helps him find his lady love, another slave. The climax is predictable as well. But what is not predictable is the way Tarantino tells the story through extraordinary characters played by brilliant actors!

The slave is not an ordinary submissive African as Calvin Candie (who enslaves Django’s lady love Hildi) thinks he should be. The man who frees Django is a dentist turned Bounty Hunter who needs Django to identify his targets. He kills mercilessly but he is also compassionate. This compassion leads him to help Django find his love. Her name is an added incentive to help Django.

Calvin Candie is again a multi layered personality. He is as charming as he is brutal. He is as intelligent as he is insensitive.

Stephen, Calvin’s care taker is a black man himself but is blind to the atrocities to his folks & blindly loyal to Calvin.

Broomhilda (aka Hildi) is a feisty girl. Girl who, as Dr Schultz says, inspires passion.

Also different is the way the film is shot. The early nineteenth century atmosphere is well replicated in the form of locales, costumes & dialogues. And when characters kill each other? They don’t just clutch their chest & collapse! The blood doesn’t flow, it explodes & the dead bodies just fly around. Just look at the way Lara Lee is shot!

The story might not have been a true one but it certainly was gripping! Some of the scenes were not for the fainthearted for sure! Like one of the fighters being mauled by dogs! (Done nothing but aggravate my fear of dogs!) Christoph Waltz played the character of multiple personalities to the hilt! But the best actor definitely was Leo. The way he depicted the cruel plantation owner with such ease was amazing, outstanding, mind blowing 🙂 🙂 🙂