FLM.RED / After the credits
The rescue plan that falls apart at dinner
Spoilers for Django Unchained (2012): Django, Schultz and the return to Candyland.
Open the recap & discussion — spoilers
In the United States before the Civil War, Django has been sold apart from his wife Broomhilda. German bounty hunter King Schultz needs Django to identify wanted men, and their meeting leads to a promise to help find her.
From captivity to bounty hunting
Schultz frees Django and asks for help finding the Brittle brothers. Afterward he offers Django a partnership over the winter and promises to help find Broomhilda. They learn that she is held at Calvin Candie’s Candyland plantation in Mississippi.
A plan built on hiding their connection
Schultz and Django pretend to be interested in buying a man forced to fight, planning to purchase Broomhilda as part of the deal. Stephen notices her familiarity with Django and alerts Candie. At dinner Candie exposes the deception and threatens her, forcing Schultz to pay a large sum.
The deal ends in gunfire
After the paperwork is completed, Candie insists Schultz shake his hand. Schultz shoots him instead and is immediately killed. Django fights Candie’s men but surrenders when Broomhilda is held hostage; he is sold away again.
Django returns on his own
Django tricks the men transporting him with a story about a bounty and escapes. He returns to Candyland, frees Broomhilda and confronts the people who remain. He destroys the mansion with explosives and the couple ride away together.
A Western set within slavery
The fictional film uses Western conventions and stylized violence in a story set in a slave society. Schultz’s refusal to shake Candie’s hand invites debate: his shot rejects a man he despises, but it also puts Django and Broomhilda in immediate danger again.
After watching
- How did you view Schultz’s decision at the handshake?
- How did Django returning for Broomhilda on his own shape the ending for you?
Fiction against a violent historical setting
The film depicts slavery, racism and extreme violence.
Keep the conversation going
Do Django and Broomhilda leave Candyland?
Yes. Django returns for her, destroys the mansion and they ride away together.
