Jojo Rabbit – Movie Reviews by Ry!

Jojo Rabbit – Satire of the Heart: Adolf and Friendship

In today’s world of cinema, uniqueness is hard to come by.  Any adaption takes time and effort, but what is noticeable is the lack of imagination within sequels and remakes.  Occasionally, you have a film that twists genre and story to create something truly fascinating.  From writer/director Taika Waititi comes a story that pushes forward a unique spin on subjects that you could never imagine being colorful.  Even when things borderline on corniness, Jojo Rabbit provides enough imagination to create a unique draw on what it means to have friendship.   

The story focuses on Jojo (Roman Davis), a boy who is living with his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) in Nazi Germany.  He is obsessed with being the best Nazi, but that changes when certain revelations happen about his mother.  With circumstances hanging in the balance, Jojo must decide what is most important.  From the beginning, the foundation is set through the unique draw of the cast.  From Jojo and Rosie to his imaginary Hitler friend (played by Taika Waititi) and a slew of other side characters, you get a generalization of normalcy through irony.  Taika Waititi tackles living in Nazi Germany through a method of comedic archetypes that highlights the obvious through tongue and cheek and physical humor.  By presenting the tale this way, it allows for the audience to move through the story through the innocent eyes of a child.  It is a sense of believability through satire, creating a retrospective angle of Nazi Germany along this boy’s journey of self-discovery.  As the story moves along, you see that Jojo at odds with some of the things his mother tries to instill in him.  When revelations of whom has been hiding at the house comes out, a fallible sense of honesty is blended through dark humor.  Everything comes off through all the different comedic blends (mentioned before), but the wittiness of character interactions and blunt dialogue provides a whimsical take on the irony of the situation.  You are living in a dangerous world, but the highlights are through the eyes of innocence.  This allows for the characterization to become pure, highlighting the day to day fear of living in Nazi Germany.   

As the journey continues, he starts to realize that things told about the Jews are a smoke screen to what is really happening at home.  The clashing of truth reveals a keen aspect of friendship, but also pushes forward consequences that are a test of endearment.  Once in the final act, the story comes full circle when Jojo faces an epiphany of sorts.  When the war finally reaches home, reality fractures the safety of his world.  This leads to a climax that puts a focus on character growth, providing explanations that are predictable but wholesome.  This leads to an epilogue that is fruitful, showing a light to all.  Jojo Rabbit provides a whimsical tale upon subjects and situations that some would deem impossible.  Through a combination of intuitive storytelling and a colorful collection of characters, this is an indie film that will have you laughing till the end.  If you’re a fan of the director or like truly different adaptations, this is one for you.  A film worthy of the big screen, worth the full price of admission.    

Full Score – 4 out of 5 (Full Price)