Eli Roth is insane. Everything he does is, in one way or another, gratuitously violent. From the films he has directed, Hostel 1 and 2, to the films he has produced, Inglorious Basterds being one of them, every one show massive amounts of violence and gore. Yet, even with his quite blatant lack of knowledge of what is publicly acceptable, I adore the man, which is why Roth’s character Donny Donowitz, better known as “The Bear Jew”, is my favorite character in Quentin Tarantino’s film, Inglorious Basterds.
Much like the theme of this film, Roth’s films follow a pattern of revenge. In this particular expression of revenge his character, Donny Donowitz, is shown as the most brutal, unyielding source. It’s as if he is programmed to be as vicious as physically possible. Of course, it’s all quite fitting. The character of Donowitz has absolutely no tolerance for the Nazi’s that he is murdering. And why should he? They have no tolerance for him, his family, his friends, or anyone of Donny’s religion, for that matter. It’s only fair that Donny Donowitz, the Bear Jew, the man carrying around a baseball bat used solely to bash in the skulls of his enemies, is the most violent, merciless and horrifying character. But again, his brutality is justified.
The way in which Donowitz attacks German soldiers is very similar in the way they go about and, without question, attack Jews or anyone who is not prejudice to Judaism. He is simply responding to what he has either seen or is aware of. He acts out what he has witnessed, which probably explains his killing spree in the final scenes of the film.
Donny, and his fellow bastard Omar, are standing over the panicking and fleeting crowd in the theatre that held the premiere of the Nazi propaganda film, “Nations Pride”. From their position, they are able to take down the enemies of their nation, thus defending its honor and maintaining its pride. Much like in the propagandist film itself, where the German soldier is taking down enemies of the state from a bell tower, Donny is possessed by the sheer need to succeed in riding the world of the scum that has dared to cross his nation. Donny’s brutal dedication is highlighted with the lack of light, and the glowing red flames that flickered across his face. All I could focus on in that scene was the gun, the fire, and Donny’s facial expression. It was not one of rage or insanity, but instead of joy. He was happy to be playing such an important role, from his perch, in the destruction of the Nazi party, and he was happy to do it in the violent fashion that he had been recruited to do.
Some interesting analysis. Note too that the camera often looks up at Donny, making him a larger than life character. Remember, when he kills the German in the forest because he won't talk.good blog.
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