Review: Jojo Rabbit

You have my permission to shame me for waiting this long to watch this movie.

Taika Waititi, what have we done to deserve you? Waititi is the writer, director, and dude-who-plays-imaginary-Hitler in Jojo Rabbit and you may know him as the director of Thor: Ragnorok. If you're a fellow comedic intellectual, you may know him as the director of What We Do In The Shadows.

This was his first run at writing and directing a big budget movie on his own, and by god man, he really knocked it out of the park. This movie was incredibly charming and touching, with an important message told with a tragic, yet also darkly funny story. It'll make you cry and laugh, sometimes within the same scene.

The Plot

Jojo Rabbit takes a whole different look at WWII by following a 10-year-old boy, Jojo, who joins the Hitler Youth. He's a bit of an outcast, due to his sweet nature and unwillingness to actually fight, which conflicts with his strong support and ideology of the Nazi movement. His world gets turned upside down when he discovers his mother is secretly hiding a young Jewish teenager in her attic. The relationship he forms with this girl causes Jojo to confront his blind nationalism, which is hilariously represented by his imaginary friend, Hitler himself.

The Performances

Roman Griffin Davis, who played Jojo, was absolutely incredible, snagging a golden globe nomination at the age of 11! I mean this kid had so much range, I caught myself at several moments audibly saying, "damn, kid" under my breath. Expect to see this kid everywhere soon.

Scarlett Johansson, who got nominated for an supporting actress Oscar for this, played Jojo's mother. I don't care what you think about Scarlett as a person, but she is one of the most talented actresses working today. She brought such raw emotion, she really brought the humanity as a single German mother trying to do the right thing.

Sam Rockwell. Sam freaking Rockwell. The single most underrated and underappreciated actor of all-time in my book. He plays the leader of the Hitler youth and demoted Nazi commander. He was both hilarious and almost empathetic by the end (you'll see why when you watch the movie).

The Point (from my point of view)

A lot of people seemed turned off or felt uncomfortable by the film taking a humorous and cartoony take on the horror of the Nazis of WWII, but it's worth noting that Taika Waititi is Jewish and knew what he was doing. Jojo loved Hitler at the beginning of the movie and dreamed of a Nazi-occupied world. He created an imaginary friend which reflected his nationalism, represented by a parady-version of Hitler. When he meets the young Jewish girl, he asks her innocent questions like asking where her horns are and if she'll use her mind-control powers on him. It showed that the Nazi propaganda used to brainwash these kids were, at their core, almost childish. The internal struggle of Jojo being pulled apart by his mother and their Jewish runaway, who conflicted with imaginary Hitler who just spouts hilarious Nazi nonsense. It's a message that doesn't downplay the evilness of the Nazi movement, but definitely offers some humanity to the idea that not every Nazi soldier was as evil as Hitler. The public was largely kept in the dark, and some simply did not know what they were fighting for...and a lot of them did not have a choice either. I can't help but respect a filmmaker satirizing a highly controversial subject to truly show it for all that it is, but in a different point of view than we are used to.

Overall, I highly recommend Jojo Rabbit, it's tragic, darkly funny, and incredibly charming. A great film for the family, with an important message that knows when to make you laugh and knows when it's time to shut up and listen. Sacrifice a few bucks to rent this soon-to-be cult classic from the next generation Wes Anderson.