Tarantino lets loose

GOOD friends can talk about anything, and for director Quentin Tarantino and producer/director Reginald Hudlin, anything usually included long, good-natured chats about the mechanics of the African-American slave trade.

The lack of a respectable film detailing the impact of slavery on the US fascinated both die-hard film buffs. Eventually both men — who met on the set of Jackie Brown in 1997 — became obsessed with the idea of crafting a no-nonsense, somewhat entertaining film detailing the lesser known aspects of slavery. After one conversation with Hudlin stuck in his mind, Tarantino went to work on an all-or-nothing script. Six months later, Django Unchained was born.

Set in the South just two years before the Civil War, Django Unchained somehow masterfully manages to present the haunting brutality of slavery while also infusing an outlandish humour only Tarantino could bring to the big screen. Moviegoers will be treated to the often controversial director’s deep love for the spaghetti western genre along with a blazing narrative of one man’s desire for vengeance and love. After being freed by a German bounty hunter, Django (Jamie Foxx) helps him track down a few bad guys for profit and then goes on a mission to find and free his enslaved wife (Kerry Washington).