“Jojo Rabbit” movie poster. Courtesy of IMDB
By Catherine Engstrom-Hadley
Staff Writer
Rating: A+
See it if: Everyone should see this movie
Skip it if: You despise a good film
Never in a million years would I think that “Jojo Rabbit,” a satire about a ten-year-old Hitler youth, was going to be my favorite movie of 2019. The film comes from the mind of Taika Waititi, the creator of “Thor: Ragnarok” and “What We Do In The Shadows.”
Waititi plays the ten-year-old Jojo Beltzer’s (Roman Griffin) imaginary friend, Hitler. This is an interesting role for Waititi, who is a Polynesian-Jewish man. In an interview on “The Daily Show,” Waititi said, “Isn’t is weird that in 2019, someone still has to make a movie trying to explain to people not to be a Nazi?”
Set during World War II, we see Jojo’s room, decked out with Nazi propaganda, and his behavior is even more extreme. This overzealousness creates a distance from his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), and his father is off at war, leaving him alone with his imaginary friend more often than not.
When Jojo is injured at his first visit to a Hitler Youth Camp after trying to impress the older kids, Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) lets Jojo complete menial tasks for his office.
Once at home, Jojo discovers his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie). Realizing that turning Elsa in would mean certain death for himself and his mother, Jojo slowly breaks free from his extremism. In bonding with Elsa, a young man finds his own humanity.
The cast delivers; even the small roles making a great impact on the film. Rebel Wilson plays Fraulein Rahm, and tells the children: “Germany is one of the most advanced civilizations in the history of the world, now let’s go burn some books.”
Roman Griffin and Thomasin McKenzie worked together flawlessly and convincingly. The humor and moments of mournful reflection give “Jojo Rabbit” its wings. The set and soundtrack are reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, and are easy on the eyes and ears.
In a lot of ways, this movie is about the people who did what they could, when they could. “Jojo Rabbit” deserves an audience.
