Jojo Rabbit… Just Wow! (Movie Review)
So I went to see Jojo Rabbit (2019) on the very first day of this month. I was very aware of this film coming out. I know on a few of my reviews I mention that “I had no idea this film was even coming out”; this is not the case with Jojo Rabbit (2019). The stills from the film, featuring, director, Taika Waititi, as one of the most infamous war criminals in history, Adolf Hitler, is enough to rub people the wrong way. Seeing only one of Waititi’s films in completion, Thor Ragnarok (2017), I had a feeling that Jojo Rabbit (2019) would be some sort of satirical film about the overbearing presence of Nazism in WW II Germany. Where this would make for a disastrous and poorly received film… I actually found it to be truly moving, clever, and heartfelt. Let’s hop to and talk about it.
Jojo Rabbit is a comedy/war/drama directed and written by Taika Waititi, with an additional writing credit by the author of the novel “Caging Skies”, Christine Leunens, which the film is based off of. Jojo Rabbit (2019) stars Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Alfie Allen, Stephen Merchant, Archie Yates, Luke Brandon Field, Sam Haygarth, and many more. The film is produced by Taika Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley, who was a producer on Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows (2014), and Carthew Neal,, who also produced Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), and Pete’s Dragon (2016). This ensemble are great together and really work within the world that the film has set up despite the subject matter being a little less than savory. Either way let’s get the review under way!
As mentioned before I have only had the pleasure of watching one Taika Waititi film in completion, that film being Thor Ragnarok (2017). Being familiar with only one other work of Waititi’s, such as What We Do in the Shadows (2014) I expected a purely satirical take on the Hitler’s influence on Germany during WW II. In beginning it seemed like that was the approach the film was going for, but as the film went on it truly surprised and even moved me. Alright well let’s see what this little slice of life tale of hate, war, and love is all bout.
Jojo Rabbit (2019) is about a young boy, Jojo (Davis), and his friend, Yorki (Yates), training to be Nazi solider’s in Hitler’s army. The two boys learn the basics about being a solider in the fuhrer’s army, which includes facing your enemies and being prepared to take lives when asked. As excited as Jojo is to be apart of Hitler’s army, ultimately his ignorance about his enemy, the young Jewish girl living in his home, Elsa (McKenzie), proves that he has a lot to learn about life and love.
All in all, Jojo Rabbit (2019) was one of my favorite films I have reviewed this year. There is so much heart in this film that it hurts. Waititi and the cast are on full blast and are able to handle sensitive subject matter with grace, while still making you root for this aspiring Hitler youth… I know! Not a sentence I thought I’d ever type out in my life, but here we are. Go see it. Its definitely one for the coming of age fans out there!
