Jojo Rabbit is definitely a really weird film but it is something you would expect from Taika Waititi. The film is pretty much 100 minutes of hilarious Nazi mocking satire with some genuinely serious moments. It mostly revolves around a 10 year old kid who has been brainwashed into being a Nazi fanatic but after an unexpected encounter, he slowly starts to see that being a Nazi sucks. That is my summary of this film anyway.
First of all, I have to praise the story/screenplay as despite delving into the topic that has been done to death in film and TV; it still manages to handle it in a rather creative and unique way. It does this by being a dark feel good movie which is just so weird for a movie about Nazi Germany. He portrays the absurdity of war through the perspective of a child lending to some wacky moments. However, Taika manages to balance this goofy comedy with the grim cruelty of the Nazi’s which is what makes this movie exceptionally unique and enjoyable. I also have to praise the performance of everyone in this film with special mention to Scarlett Johansson,Sam Rockwell and Taika Waititi as Hitler himself. Scarlett manages to inject some genuine feel good moments in this film and Sam Rockwell giving a hilarious over the top Nazi soldier but still give a contrasting serious performance when he needs to. Taika himself playing Hitler just feels so weird but that is exactly what the story needed and it just works. Likewise, Roman Griffin Davis as the titled character “Jojo” and Archie Yates as his friend “Yorki” have great chemistry reminding me of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Despite being child actors they really managed to give a great performance that doesn’t irritate you. I also want to note the score which isn’t 1917 amazing but is quite unique and different for a WWII film with its German renditions of western songs which also lends to the uniqueness of this film.
Despite my praise, this movie is not for everyone. There are a lot of stereotypes, historical inaccuracies and lack of realism that might grind people the wrong way. There are certain tonal shifts that can feel really sudden rather than subtle that can be slightly jarring. It can also be argued that the movie doesn’t really dive deep into the genuinely horrifying things about Nazi Germany and that it plays a bit too safe. Personally, I do think there were some missing opportunities to explore Jojo’s character with the surprising lack of interaction with his friend Yorki and that the Jewish character was only used as a love interest and a writing device to get Jojo out of Nazi mindset.
However, in my opinion those flaws, historical accuracy etc, don’t necessarily matter too much to a film. In the end, a film is meant to be enjoyable and I most certainly enjoyed this film. Films can also you leave you with a sense of message gained and this film certainly does that as well. This movie is certainly a great time and it is rather ambitious as well. I highly recommend you give this movie a chance.
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