Source:
https://scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3029911/jojo-rabbit-film-review-taika-waititis-nazi-comedy
Lifestyle/ Entertainment

Jojo Rabbit film review: Taika Waititi’s Nazi comedy is hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking

  • New Zealander channels Charlie Chaplin and Mel Brooks with story of a Hitler Youth trainee and his imaginary best friend Adolf Hitler, played by the director
  • The most irreverent anti-war satire in years, it repeatedly ridicules fanaticism. It could not be more relevant with far-right extremism again on the rise

4/5 stars

Following in the footsteps of legendary Hollywood satirists Charlie Chaplin, Ernst Lubitsch and Mel Brooks, New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi ( Thor: Ragnarok ) sets out to ridicule Adolf Hitler and the entire Third Reich in his absurd World War II comedy Jojo Rabbit.

Centring on the struggles of a 10-year-old Hitler Youth trainee, whose imaginary best friend is Der Führer himself, Waititi’s award-winning adaptation of Christine Leunens’ novel Caging Skies is by turns hilarious, horrifying and ultimately heartbreaking.

Roman Griffin Davis is wonderful as Jojo, the confused young lad living in war-torn Germany, who has already lost his sister and father to the conflict. Subjected to endless combat training and anti-Semitic propaganda, Jojo wants nothing more than to rid the world of scaly, fork-tongued Jews, and be the best Nazi he can be. But when he discovers a young Jewish girl hiding in his attic, Jojo begins to question everything he has been taught, even the advice of his best friend, Adolf (Waititi).

At a time when far-right extremism is once again raising its ugly head, Jojo Rabbit could not be more relevant and necessary. While never making light of its shocking subject matter, Waititi scores repeated laughs highlighting the ridiculous nature of indoctrination and fanaticism, as filtered through the ill-informed logic of impressionable young boys.

The film remains grounded in reality by the innocent honesty of its three young leads. Davis and Archie Yates, as his equally confused pal Yorkie, have little grasp of the realities of war. To them, being a good Nazi means little more than being “really into swastikas”. Only Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), the Jewish fugitive, whose young life has already witnessed untold horrors, understands the true cost of their childish enthusiasm.

(From left) Roman Griffin Davis, Taika Waititi and Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbit.
(From left) Roman Griffin Davis, Taika Waititi and Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbit.

They are surrounded by a star-studded cast of lunatic grown-ups, including Sam Rockwell and Rebel Wilson as Jojo’s instructors, and Stephen Merchant as a Jew-hunting Gestapo officer, but none is more deranged than Waititi’s own turn as a buffoonish Hitler. It falls to Scarlett Johansson to present us with the film’s only responsible adult; as Jojo’s protective mother, she delivers a playful, touching performance that gives the film its emotionally vulnerable core.

A triumph of the wit that exposes humour in hate and humanity in atrocity, Jojo Rabbit bounds off the screen as the smartest, most irreverent anti-war satire in years, and a rousing testament to the beauty and power of tolerance and love.

Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook