Name : Standartenführer Hans Landa

Other names : The Jew Hunter

Born : Austria

Death : Allied French Territory 

Profession : Schuzstaffel (SS) officer in and around 1940s in Germany occupied France.

Played by : Christoph Waltz

Movie : Inglorious Basterds

Directed by : Quentin Tarantino

“Rats were the cause of the bubonic plague, but that’s some time ago. I propose to you, any disease a rat would spread, a squirrel could equally carry.”

We hear these wretched but brilliant words from Colonel Hans Landa in the movie, making a fair amount of fear creep into us right from the moment he steps on screen. He is not your everyday villain. He is gorgeous- handsome and so charming. He could have gotten anywhere with it but in Nazi occupied Germany, we see him as a narcissist.

Diagnosis ( don’t know why I am talking like a doctor) : Narcissistic Personality Disorder 

Yes, I identify him as someone with a Narcissistic personality disorder. Many might indulge in analytical debates of whether he is a psychopath or sociopath, I would say none. He is handsome, witty, intellectually superior and razor sharp but his constant need to constantly and publicly establish it, is what draws the line between a person with NPD and/or sociopath and psychopath. (Open to healthy debates that can change my opinion)

On the other hand, him drinking two consecutive glasses of milk at Monsieur La Pedite’s abode, is merely a metaphor depicting his cold blooded prowess hidden beneath the mask of primal desires.

Public Establishment of Superiority and a Sense of Fear

As Tarantino himself has spoken in an interview, “Every interview is a theatre- a mind game with his suspects.” , while speaking about the character of Hans Landa. 

We see him smoking a Calabash Meerschaum pipe as a sudden afterthought knowing fully well what sort of an inferior quality of pipe a poor French farmer(M. LaPedite) might smoke. So, Calabash Meerschaum was the pipe that used to be smoked by Sherlock Holmes as well. I have never agreed to the fact that Sherlock was a ‘high functioning sociopath’ as Benedict’s Sherlock claims, but rather felt that he had only NPD as well. Landa considers himself to be unbeatable and all conquering. Once again, his constant need to establish superiority made him dramatically smoke the pipe despite not really being a smoker.

Another classic narcissistic trait is seen towards the climax when he blatantly admits that he is an opportunist, as more than anything else- he would want to go down in history as ‘the one who stopped the war’. He killed Bridget Von Hammersmark in such a fit of rage, might make one wonder what made him break character. The fact that Bridget didn’t deny his suspicions but actually admitted to her being a spy, made Landa feel powerless. His ultimate savagery that was lurking in undertones throughout the movie, thus came to the surface.

No Regrets, No Remorse 

“What tremendous feats humans are capable of once they abandon dignity”.

This is another twisted dialogue, depicting moral ambiguity and despise for the weak, we hear from Landa. One of the primary reasons of letting Shosanna go was the fact that he was sure an inferior being like her would not survive and sooner or later he would only get hold of her. Thus, it is a fitting poetic justice when Lieutenant Aldo Raine doesn’t kill Landa but brands him with a ‘swastika’ on his temple. This scarred the hyper-inflated ego of a narcissist forever – something that death would never achieve.

Let me know your ideas about the possible life of Colonel Hans Landa, post credits! 😏