Django Unchained

Django is, initially, a resentful slave, marked by the mistreatment that those of his race received at that time, but at the same time, innocent, with a clear tendency towards good, and bewildered by the office of his new master. Dr. King Schultz, on the other hand, is an educated German, who kills for money (bandits guilty of murder and robbery), but with a strange feeling of solidarity towards blacks, and contempt for slavery. It is interesting how friendship flows between both characters, so different, and at the same time so similar. Django is an outcast, and Schultz is a lonely foreigner with an ill-seen trade. In addition, he identifies Django with the hero of an ancient German legend: Sigfried, who was supposed to save a princess whose name was also Broomhilda. Here we must also highlight the irony of the director, since the character of Schultz is played by Christoph Waltz, who, in his previous film (Inglorious Basterds), played Colonel Hans Landa, the bloodthirsty SS officer.

On the side of the "villains" the contrasts are also strong. We have a Calvin Candie (Leonardo Di Caprio) who presents himself as a hospitable and charismatic subject. He is a man of high society, wealthy and with good manners, but with his slaves he is a mean and abusive tyrant. The gestural handling of Di Caprio is extremely interesting, since it presents us with a physically attractive character, but with grotesque gestures, which in each blink highlights its twisted essence. Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) for his part, comes to be something like "Calvin's intelligent pet". Calvin is not very bright; Stephen is, he is a cunning slave, but completely submissive; venerates Calvin with fanatical effervescence, supporting them in all their decisions, applauding their comments, and helping them punish the other slaves. He is a character with comical expressions, which, however, makes him hate.