What a fascinating movie. I'm not going to say I am a big fan of Quentin Tarantino's work because that would implied I have seen all his work, and I haven't. But the movies that I have watched (Kill Bill 1 and 2, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds) by Tarantino tend to hold a unique consistency that makes him the artist he is.
What I find fascinating about Django, and definitely his other movies as well, is his apprecciation for human beauty. His actors always tend to have very unique and beautiful features which he always captures from different camera angles and shots. The opening scene for Django is a great example, with the two slave sellers/brothers, Tarantino had very interesting and quick close ups that I still remember it so clearly days after I watched the movie. Perhaps this is typical of spaghetti western movies, and Tarantino has used these techniques before in previous movies but I think it works beautifully with the stories being told in these movies. Up until I watched this movie, I had never been able to appreciate Kerry Washington's natural beauty, one of my friends thought I was deceiving myself or hating. But all I needed was to watch a Tarantino movie to finally see it for myself. Gorgeous actress and soul.
Generally it is hard for me to watch violent and horror films because of the ever lasting impressions they leave on my mind. And I am a firm believer that my generation is becoming too passive in the face of violent behavior thanks to the normalization of violence we have experienced on T.V and movies. However, I have to admit that Tarantino's film scenes, while they may be violent and too bloody for me to watch, are turned into pieces of Art, so much that I don't feel repulsive about it the way I would If I was watching any episode of The Walking Dead. So there I was, watching the final scenes of Django and enjoying every single second of it (it was also because I loved Django finally taking revenge) it wasn't disgusting or too graphic, but it was fair enough for everyone in the theatre.
I also never complained about the lenght of the movie unlike my friend who suggested 45 minutes should had been cut off from it. I actually thought it fitted perfectly with the flow of the story and the style of our storyteller. I feel that people need to learn to appreciate an artist's work as it is, to take it as it is. We are so quick to judge a work of art without even knowing the author's intentions. Instead, look at it as it is presented to you and just enjoy it! Perhaps wonder why some decisions are made that particular way and take a wild guess.
"Art for Arts' sake" said Oscar Wilde, keep that in mind Folks.
