written and directed by Taika Waititi
based (loosely) on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens
There's been a lot of discussion as to whether or not the movie Jojo Rabbit was made in good taste, and even though we live in a day and age in which "I'm offended" is a catch-phrase that's so overused it's become the object of ridicule, it's not an altogether invalid question. Although comedies have been made about World War II in general and even Hitler in particular, it's still worth asking if the film in question has been well-made, and in this case, the answer would most definitely have to be "yes."
Johannes Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) is a 10-year-old German boy who, in the last few months of World War II, joins the Hitler Youth, which represented one of the Third Reich's last desperate attempts to gather up warm bodies for their failing war effort. Like many of his fellow recruits, Johannes or Jojo is fanatically devoted to Der Fuhrer Adolf Hitler and his teachings, like his all-abiding hatred of Jews, and even has him as a somewhat goofy imaginary friend (played by director Taika Waititi himself). Being smaller than the other recruits, Jojo is regularly bullied and, when he refuses to kill a rabbit, is derisively nicknamed "Jojo Rabbit." It's not all bad, though; while at boot camp Jojo hangs out with his best friend Yorki (Archie Yates) and is later looked after by the kindly if often scatterbrained Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) and his aide and possible boyfriend Finkel (Alfie Allen) and, most importantly is loved by his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), who detests the war and wants nothing more than for it to end. Then, one day, to his shock, Jojo discovers that, hidden in his very own house, lives a Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin MacKenzie). Jojo realizes he cannot sound the alarm, lest his mother get in trouble for harboring the enemy, and he is at a loss as to what to do to serve his Fuhrer, especially when his feelings start getting in the way of his deeply-held beliefs.
It's hard to shake the feeling that one thing the filmmakers are stating, in the most thinly-veiled way imaginable, is that fanatics are basically children, but to the film's credit it's got so much more going for it than that. While a love story at heart, the movie still tells the story of a budding fanatic, never missing an opportunity to point out just how ridiculous his beliefs are. What is perhaps even more amazing is that a lot of the propaganda discussed in the film which depicts Jews as being less than human is not even a contrivance of the script but rather derived from actual Nazi propaganda back in the day. It's basically like the jokes wrote themselves.
Still, the film has its fair share of unsettling moments as it shifts in tone between comedic and dramatic, quite often stepping ever-so-slightly into inappropriate territory but overall it does an admirable job of maintaining the balance. This isn't a Mel Brooks or Abrahams-Zucker movie that basically chucks any pretense of seriousness out the window from the word "go;" it dares to mix both the levity and the grimness of war. Keeping that balance is what makes this film as effective as it is, as exemplified when it delivers one of its more stunning moments with the requisite impact. Also, Waititi's choice to keep the film grounded in the horror of war, even amidst all the farce, makes it that much easier to connect with his characters.
Another thing that keeps the narrative from becoming too unwieldy is the fact that every single actor in this film is in tip-top form, from Scarlett Johansson to Sam Rockwell to Stephen Merchant, who plays a slimy Gestapo officer, to newcomer Roman Griffin Davis. In particular, there is this distinct sweetness in the relationship between Johansson's Rosie and her fanatical son Jojo, which is easily the most important relationship in the entire film and which I'm sure, in this day and age of families divided along lines of political loyalty, resonated with quite a lot of viewers living in countries grappling with authoritarian leaders. It's also this loving dynamic that gives the film its real power, as Waititi surely recognized that the movie could not simply coast on the chutzpah that enabled him to make this film in the first place. Rockwell also deserves special mention for his portrayal of the bumbling Klenzendorf, a character who could easily have descended into caricature but whom Rockwell imbues with a surprising amount of humanity. Also, in a day an age in which queerbaiting is an unfortunate reality in Hollywood movies (I'm looking at you, Captain Marvel and Star Wars: Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker), it was surprisingly pleasant to see a genuinely-developed LGBT character whose sexuality was an integral part of some very important decisions he made in the context of the story. Even the zanier characters like Rebel Wilson's overzealous Fraulein Rah and Stephen Merchant's goofy gestapo agent come off well.
If there's anything that weighs the movie down it's not the humor but the occasional heavy-handedness of the sentimentality, though fortunately that doesn't happen too often throughout the film.
Waititi truly is a gifted storyteller; it would have been very easy to get this film terribly wrong, but amazingly, he manages the balancing act all the way to the finish line. For that, this movie really is quite a unique achievement.
8/10
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