Jojo Rabbit

My rating is more of a 4.5Thanks for reading!𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚....𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏.Jojo Rabbit is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi; Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a ten-year-old Hitler Youth member who finds out that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. He must then question his beliefs while dealing with the intervention of his imaginary friend (Waititi), a fanciful version of Adolf Hitler with a comedic stance on the politics of the war.As is the case with its source material (A novel entitled 𝑪𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔 written by Christine Leunens and published in 2008), 𝑱𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕 begins as a frantic montage of life as a certifiable Nazi youngster, though both benefit from the omission of information pertaining to its titular character’s enlistment.In his book, 𝑴𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒇, Hitler wrote that “Whoever has the youth has the future” and prior to hisAppointment as Chancellor in 1933 Nazi leaders were finding ways to capitalize on this advice.One way was with the creation of programs meant to recruit members starting from when they turned ten that at first were voluntary, however, by 1936 all boys and girls living in Nazi Germany were required by law to train as a Jungvolk; children found to not be compliant risked being exiled to ‘Re-education Camps’ with their parents being reprimanded in the form of fines, imprisonment, or execution.𝑪𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔, relative to 𝑱𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕, is much less concerned with the substantiation of the appeal these camps might have from an adolescent perspective: Which, as Waititi rightfully suggests even when being facetious or downright crass, utilized a format of playful indoctrination (And, not to mention, some basic life skills that might be learned as a 𝑩𝒐𝒚 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒕) so pivotal to Jojo’s sense of camaraderie, civil duty, and importance.It goes without saying that the Holocaust is no laughing matter, and the sentiment has forced a mixed bag of reception from 𝑱𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕’s audience between its offbeat humor and its juvenile portrayal of Hitler himself.Tone related differences aside, there are no traces of “imaginary Hitler” in 𝑪𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔, and the implementation of this narrative device might fair as inconsiderate indulgence on an interpersonal level.Whether it changes viewers’ opinions is neither here nor there, but important to note here is that Waititi is Jewish (A Polynesian one, at that), and as such is entitled (In my opinion) to the exploration of the mindset of a child who has sense enough to appoint Hitler as his personal hero:This being really absolutely zero sense, as evidenced and emphasized by the mockish, divisive, and inaccurate depiction of him.Interestingly enough, this casting of Hitler was not the original plan, however potential producers made their support conditional in that their financial backing became dependent on Waititi agreeing to take up this role.Having no interest in an authentic performances - so as to almost deny a deceased Hitler the satisfaction of Waititi dedicating the time to the research this would require - Jojo’s imaginary companion becomes an immersive point of contact; as he makes his maniacal and borderline cringy rounds the headspace is never mistakable as that of a preadolescent boy, and this reinforces the use of Jojo as a vessel in which Nazi propaganda can take-up residency in rent free while bypassing the influence of adults that might introduce their own reservations and objections.For people who have read 𝑪𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔, the obvious observation made is that 𝑱𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕 doesn't account for approximately half of Leunens ‘s novel, And that's without giving much thought to other differences that are dispositional critical.In the spirit of not spoiling the material, Jojo's desperate grasp for influence over the proximity in which Elsa remains with him in the form of deception towards the conclusion of 𝑱𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕 was not Waititi’s idea, but for your the sake of consideration:A) This lie is originally told when Jojo is nineteen and not nine; subsequently, readers spend more time exploring the dynamic between him and Elsa (And, not to mention, other characters) because he is nine at the beginning of 𝑪𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔.B) This deception precedes a much more sinister outcome for Elsa as this ruse goes on for far much longer, and the lengths gone to in order to keep it up reflects a bit of narcissism and obsession on Jojo’s behalfThese details certainly don’t demean the effectiveness of Waititi’s direction or take away from the seriousness that inevitably froths below, though 𝑪𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔 does more to illustrate the long-term effects of these camps on a concentrated scale with little interest in entertaining self-deprecating fits or crude absurdity. This does beg the question as to why this point of manipulation is included as a “last hoorah” for cinematic Jojo (Which, otherwise seems kind of random), though this may be a way of consolidating the behavior his mother would have modeled for him (Which, if we think of this in terms of how much Hitler Youth were trained to be suspicious of their caretaker in real life, is applicable as thoughtful content) in the overarching context.Optimistic as it is ridiculous, 𝑱𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕 is most guilty of ending on a bridge of inclusivity and love, and is a far cry from the brutality that is 𝑪𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔. A fitting battle cry when taking Waititi’s lineage into consideration, in both pieces of work is its preoccupation with a loss of innocence though the former retains this in stocked breaths that come off as an excess of crass and tasteless marvel.Nonetheless, 𝑱𝒐𝒋𝒐 𝑹𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕 strength as a stubborn fraternal twin is in reaching for light where its predecessor is shrouded by darkness, and its power is in empathizing with the impressionability of nefarious authority while confidently defying it at the same time.

Brief warning: My review of Jojo Rabbit contains minor spoilers- if you haven't seen Jojo Rabbit maybe go see it firstWhen I was a kid I came up with a lot of ideas as I started getting into writing. Most have been done by other people by now (I came up with Dexter before that became a thing). I was infatuated with war films. In the 80s and 90s we got a lot of Vietnam war movies, and we got some World War II films. I always wondered why no one ever made a film about the opposing side. All these films were always about America, and ya those are good stories. It's important to study the effects of war, even if it's on the winning side, but there are two sides to every argument. What did the Vietcong have to say? What about the Nazi's? I never could solve that, and I think it required a perspective on war I never would have had at 14. I knew that people do things for a reason, and they do not see themselves as "evil." It's always been ludicrous to me to think that someone just wakes up one day and just decides to do something we may consider "evil." I think Jojo Rabbit solves this problem for me because it finds a way to discuss a difficult topic from the perspective of a child.Jojo Rabbit is an achievement. We often get various depictions of World War 2, and the more creative ones will often depict the atrocities of the Nazi regime from different view points. "La vita è bella" (Life is Beautiful) comes to mind most prominently for me.Despite it's gregarious Director, Life is Beautiful was a brilliant film. It told the story of the atrocities of being forced into a concentration camp from the view point of a father who is trying to hide the horrors from his son. It is very silly (Roberto Benini plays it up very Chaplinesque in the film) but in the end we still understand the horror that is taking place behind the brittle facade that the father is trying to hold up so his son doesn't realize what is happening. It has it's moments of comedy but is also quite traumatic and in that we find reality and in that reality we see the beauty of the work. It's truly a brilliant film.I feel like even bringing that up is a minor spoiler because it's not entirely clear how far this film (JoJo Rabbit) will go in the trailers. I personally appreciate that because I did not expect it so maybe reading my blog review is too much to know going in. I put a warning at the top just in case.The movie fools you a bit (where as Life is Beautiful did not- it is actually clear from what my hazy 20+ memory of it recalls) into thinking it's just going to be a goofy comedy. But then it gets incredibly smart (and look it starts doing this rather quickly).First off: I've never seen a film do this in this way. The film is telling the story of the Nazi ideology from the perspective of a 10 year old being put through a training camp (displayed to look like boy scouts- look I don't know the accuracy I just really like the incredible ways in which this film explains things to the American audience in ways an American audience would understand). Then throughout the film it goes on to exaggerate the Nazi ideology in ways that not only explain it but also show you how immature it is. As if to say its just like an ideology that a 10 year old boy would come up with- creating a no girls club in their tree house. That kind of idea. This is all done really well and sets the tone for a lot of funny moments.Now you could argue this is enough. It's surprising that it got distributed given how stupid modern audiences are, but somehow it did and maybe that is why the film takes a turn around the 3rd act in which it has to explain the reality. Maybe that was required, I don't know- for me it was slightly unexpected. Maybe there is no way to keep up the charade, and it really is very similar to Life is Beautiful in this way. By the end the child has to see the world for what it really is and understand that the ideology is wrong. There has to be a moment of clarity by the end.I can't say anymore. I don't want to spoil it further, and to say more is to spoil it. It's not so much a story spoiler, but something more than that.Everyone should see this movie. It's quite brilliant. Much like Roberto Benini I wonder if Taika Waititi has anything left in him after this. He has other films coming out, but this is the film he got to make because of his studio film being a hit, and I hope like Christopher Nolan he can keep coming up with his own stuff. I think he has a brilliant mind for this kind of story and I want to see what more he can do.

Offbeat but ultimately touching account of a child's struggle during wartime. When Taika Waititi is on point, he delivers, and he delivers a funny, melancholy, quirky, and sad coming of age tale in the heart of Nazi occupation here. Well-acted, well-written, and affecting.