I appreciate Wilf's analysis of the absence of a moral center and it's very clear that it's also absent in IB. I agree with surferbeetle about the performance of Christoph Waltz, and while a sophisticated, precise, and amoral SS Colonel, I have a hard time seeing the character as a villian. I suppose practical amorality is preferable to outright depravity.

Surfer, what did you mean by this statement:

An interpretation of current events......in an imagined historical setting.
Also, for the group, why do you think the movie is receiving so much praise from both thte film establishment and the public in general?