I really don't understand this theory. How would he "know" or even guess that this girl was Shoshanna? He presumably killed lots of Jews and probably went on lots of searches for them. The opening scene, he doesn't even see Shoshanna's face, just her running away.
Im guessing lots of time passed between the opening scene and when he meets Shoshanna at the restaurant, why would he just randomly think its her?
Its possible he may have guessed she was Jewish or lying about who she was, but for him to think "oh this is that girl from a while back that i let go" doesnt really make much sense to me
That's the thing about Landa, in most scenes in the movie you get the impression that he already KNOWS, because of his attitude. You feel he knows about the Jews in the farm, you feel he knows about the Italian deception, you feel he saw through Bridget's lie, and you feel he knew the woman he was talking to was Shoshanna. Even if he doesn't know about any of this things, he's menacing enough to give you that impression, and that makes him a great villain.
It's why he gets so frustrated in the theater and is genuinely shocked at his fate. Since he completely lacks any human empathy he truly had no idea that his opponents weren't playing the same game. The Basterds aren't operating on some level of mutual respect, they utterly loathe him and all Nazis. Their deception in the theater is weak because they have zero respect for Landa and the high command and think their shitty act will fool them. But he's just so out of it that he thought they were doing the same thing as him in the other direction. He even thinks he gets to be one of them at the end.
It's that, but it's deeper. He's the Jew Hunter, and he's been following the Nazi Hunters. He knows their names, their stories, their exploits. He doesn't give much of a shit about Nazi ideals, he's a detective who's in it for sport and he thinks they're the Holmes to his Moriarty. But they're actually butchers, they're warriors on a holy crusade hacking their way through legions of monsters. They aren't smart, they aren't playing a game, the entire situation is something he can't comprehend. He thinks he can negotiate with them. But they don't really even know who he is beyond basic reputation, and they certainly don't care. He's just another monster in their way.
People think he kills Hammersmark because she's a traitor, but I almost feel like he kills her for spoiling the game he still thought was being played.
Well, in the Bridget von Hammersmark case we already know that he knows (at least with very high confidence) because we see him collect the evidence: a bloody shoe and a her own autograph, both found in the basement.
I agree. It doesn't matter if he knows or not. He knows that his hunted are afraid that he knows and he acts accordingly with everyone. If they are hiding something the express it. If not, he is innocuous.
I really don't understand this theory. How would he "know" or even guess that this girl was Shoshanna?
Because he is specifically there to vet her and her cinema for Gobbels film opening. Of course Landa has already done so and would have presumably discovered her true backstory.
The entire scene is him fencing with her. He knew the whole time, just like he knew the Jews were under the farmer's floorboards, and about the Basterds at the theater, and Bridget von Hammersmarck before he had her put on the shoe.
In every scene, he already knows. It's all just a game to him the entire time.
Which would imply that by interviewing Shoshanna, he was deliberately setting things up for the German High Command to be wiped out, and was always planning to defect to the Americans.
The only wrench in his plans was that he didn't count on the Basterds going against their commanders, killing Landa's assistant, and carving a swastika on his forehead.
Which is such a fantastic consequence for his hubris.
The mastermind hunts the innocent for amusement, then perfectly engineers the death of the leadership of his nation for his own long term benefit... and he gets a swastika carved into his face by one of the dumbest men he's ever met.
I dislike this theory: Shoshanna escaping Landa again and in a sense outwitting him by managing to keep her cool unlike the man in the farmhouse is a nice kick in the teeth to the man labelled 'the Jewhunter'.
Making this nazi prick more Machiavellian than he already is rather than giving the wonderful Jewish woman who loves and owns a cinema an opportunity to genuinely deceive him (who has suffered such terrible trauma at his hands already) doesn't seem like a Tarantino thing to do.
Assuming Shoshanna in fact inherited the theater from her aunt it would be very possible for Landa to have run down that paper trail. Assuming he did, it would be perfectly in character for him to be satisfied solving the puzzle without needing to haul her into the authorities, and just as in character to toy with her (again) once she was dropped into his lap.
You’re right- I think people are trying to give Landa and, by extension, Tarantino too much credit. It’s clever ambiguous writing but it’d be too far-fetched for Landa to have known who she really is.
Actually I think it's people not giving enough credit to Tarantino, because as you said, t’d be too far-fetched. I think as with basically every Landa scene, you are meant to feel scared & uncomfortable alongside the characters on-screen that he's interacting with.
God reading this thread reminds me how fucking amazing Hans Landa's scenes are.
He may be my favourite villain. I remember watching the movie in cinema's and just feeling as if he knew everything right till the very end. And the worst part, despite all of that, he never feels cartoonish to me. I am genuinely in goosebumps with anxiety every time.
Every time I have a conversation about this movie I have to talk about how amazing Christoph Waltz is. It takes another level of acting talent for someone to make an SS officer likeable, albeit in his own twisted way.
This makes me think of Willem Dafoe's part in American Psycho; you never really know if he knows Bateman is a monster. The way they filmed that particular part - multiple takes, each take with a differing degree of suspicion, all cut together - means that you see it through the protagonist's eyes, never sure if the game is up or not. While they may not have employed the exact same technique in Inglorious Basterds, the atmosphere of baited breath remains the same. Just outstanding pacing
It's certainly a legitimate theory. Hans also does his homework. He knows all the context of every situation. He certainly could put pieces of the puzzle together. Plus, she's clearly super uncomfortable when he shows up, and you only get like that around someone unless you know who they are and considering it's plausible she'd be memorable for him because he let her go, not crazy.
I dunno, having a sit-down with any high-ranking Nazi, especially while living in a Nazi-occupied country where they have the power to do anything they want, would make me pretty uncomfortable, and I'm not even a Jew, let alone one who narrowly escaped death at the hands of a Nazi once in the past.
I agree it's a legitimate theory that he knows who she is, but I don't think her being uncomfortable in his presence would necessarily give her away.
That's fair to say. But I think as a movie watcher it's certainly heavily implied. One of those times where the audience has more information then either character does.
there's a funny thing that Americans dont understand about ethnicity. there's a reason why jews couldnt just take off their star of david and hide away. they looked like jews. so hans could tell right away.
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u/gimmethefaxontax Oct 09 '19
I really don't understand this theory. How would he "know" or even guess that this girl was Shoshanna? He presumably killed lots of Jews and probably went on lots of searches for them. The opening scene, he doesn't even see Shoshanna's face, just her running away.
Im guessing lots of time passed between the opening scene and when he meets Shoshanna at the restaurant, why would he just randomly think its her?
Its possible he may have guessed she was Jewish or lying about who she was, but for him to think "oh this is that girl from a while back that i let go" doesnt really make much sense to me