Jojo Rabbit Movie Review
Who would have thought director Taika Waititi of Thor: Ragnarok fame would make a black comedy set in Nazi Germany that would look like something of a cross between The Great Dictator and Life Is Beautiful? Not only has he directed it, but he has also acted in it as well, channelling his inner Chaplin to bring to life a slightly deranged Hitler. It's a film that would like you to believe that the German children weren't corrupted to their very core by the Nazi propaganda. That somehow they were able to retain their inner goodness. The film is set during the fag end of the Second World War, when Germany was losing. The people were no longer buying into the Nazi lies by then. Could the dynamics of the film have been different if it was set during the heady days when Hitler was winning everything? One couldn't be sure of that.
Growing up, children often have imaginary friends. Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), a ten-year-old boy obsessed with Aryan lineage and SS ideology, has Hitler (Taika Waititi) as his imaginary friend. While the Führer acts goofily and gives Jojo pep talks, his rants become increasingly fanatic as the film progresses, standing for the protagonist's rising awareness about what Nazism truly means. Jojo is given the nickname Rabbit when he refuses to kill a rabbit at a Nazi youth camp at the behest of older boys. He's given such rousing advice by Hitler that he ends up snatching a grenade from his instructor's hands. Throwing it all wrong, he hurts his face and legs in the resulting explosion. He's sent home to recuperate and finds out that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a very Anne Frank like Jewish girl in a secret panel inside his dead sister's room. The girl, Elsa Korr (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) used to be a friend of his late sister and perhaps that has led to her being rescued by Jojo's mother. Though what the mother actually does for a living or whether she's an active member of the resistance is never made clear. One should also keep in mind that one is seeing the world through the eyes of a ten-year-old here, who might not have realised the truer meaning of things.
The film comes alive when Jojo and Elsa start to communicate. He's been indoctrinated into thinking that Jews are hell-spawned and Elsa initially plays along, knowing that only his own intelligence would convince him otherwise. He's deeply suspicious of her and wants to report her but somehow understands that doing that would harm his mother as well. Slowly a bond develops between them. He even starts writing letters to her on behalf of her missing fiancee in order to cheer her up. That bond solidifies when the Gestapo enters Jojo’s house and Elsa pretends to be his elder sister. The two youngsters come to rely on each other to keep hope and faith alive and it’s their friendship which helps them tide over the difficult times.
This is basically a feel-good film. So the full horror of war or the terror exercised by the Gestapo is merely glanced over here. We are also spared the agony of watching the psychological scars felt by children as they are ruthlessly pressed into service during the lost days of the war. Such nightmares get a varnish of comedy and hence their full impact gets diluted. The majority of the story revolves around how the two women in Jojo’s life, his mother and his new-found friend help preserve his innocence, his sanity in a world going mad in so many different ways. Its underlying message is that life needs to be celebrated even in the midst of misery and one shouldn’t forget to laugh, or to dance, or to love even during the direst of calamities as these are the things which essentially makes us human. The film ends with Elsa and Jojo dancing as American G.I.s celebrate victory.
Scarlett Johansson has done a fine job as Jojo’s mother who has to be a good German on one hand while dealing with her son’s fanaticism on the other. Taika Waititi is in his element here as Hitler, essaying the character with plenty of campy fun. The camp elements are evident in Sam Rockwell’s character also, who plays a handicapped soldier in charge of making soldiers out of children. It’s hinted that he may have been having a gay relationship with a subordinate. Rebel Wilson spoofs the stock Nazi women officer loyal to the cause who doesn’t mind turning children into killing machines. Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie’s sensitive portrayal of Elsa keeps the emotional balance of the film from spilling over. This New Zealand born actress is surely someone to watch out for in future. The film, however, belongs to the supremely talented Roman Griffin Davis, who has made an extraordinary debut with Jojo Rabbit. His face undergoes a medley of emotions as he draws you inside Jojo’s world and makes you see things from his character's perspective. It’s odd that he missed an Oscar nomination...
Trailer : Jojo Rabbit
Sreeparna Sengupta, January 28, 2020, 4:54 AM IST
Story:During the Second World War, a ten-year-old German boy’s ultimate goal is to be military trained at the Hitler Youth camp and hopefully become Hitler’s personal guard someday. However, he is in a dilemma when he finds out his mother has hidden a Jewish girl up in their attic.
Review: Johannes Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) is nicknamed ‘Jojo Rabbit’ at the Hitler Youth Camp since he is considered a coward for not being to kill a rabbit, as part of the training process. In an attempt to prove otherwise, he takes a wild shot with a hand grenade, which explodes scarring his face and crippling a leg. The camp is run by Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), who fondly remembers his days at war before he was injured and relegated to training young Nazi boys, and his associate Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson).
Disappointed that he wasn’t able to live up to his own expectations and with his father away at war, Jojo turns to his imaginary friend, 'Adolf Hitler' (Taika Waititi), for encouragment. Jojo’s already established fanatic beliefs and indoctrination are further fuelled by this friend’s pep talks.
However, Jojo now does odd voluntary jobs like putting up pamphlets of Hitler since he isn’t fit for the army anymore. And as he spends more time at home to recover, he stumbles upon noises in his sister’s room and soon finds out that his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) has kept a Jewish girl hidden there. Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), a 17-year-old, has been staying in a small box room behind a false wall, in isolation.
At first, Jojo tries to shun her and seriously considers turning her in, to the Gestapo but he realises his mother would get in to trouble if he were to do that. So grudgingly, and as advised by the Fuhrer to play mind games with her, he begins small conversations with her, till he can figure out what to do.
Some of ‘Jojo Rabbit’s’ best satirical moments come through with Taika Waititi’s portrayal as Adolf Hitler and his conversations with Jojo. It drives home the shocking and disturbing extent to which children were brainwashed with the Nazi rhetoric, leaving them with nothing but blind faith and deep seated prejudice. Even Jojo and Rosie’s conversations are potent – putting forth how ultimately humanity is lost in the bargain. Unfortunately Jojo extent of knowledge is limited to what he has learnt in school – which has taught him that Jews are inhuman, have horns and other such hyperbole.
As the second hour of the film explores Rosie's relationship with her son, and Jojo and Elsa also begin to form a friendship, the emotional quotient of the film is heightened. Taika Waititi’s deft screenplay and direction will take the audience through a gamut of contradictory emotions - a deep sense of irony, laughter and a lot of tears. The visual style and color palette are reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, especially as the Beatles song,"I want to hold your hand", plays out in German as the film opens.
Roman Griffin Davis is spectacular as Jojo as he navigates the emotional range that his character demands. Scarlett Johansson is delicate and vibrant as Rosie. But as one finds out there is much more to her than meets the eye and Johansson beautifully conveys her state of mind as the last days of the Second World War close in. At one point knowing what indoctrination has done to her kid she sighs, "Yet there is hope. Hope that your only remaining child is not a ghost." Thomasin McKenzie puts in a stellar performance and her haunting presence and piercing eyes will stay with you. Archie Yates stands out as Yorki, Jojo's only other friend with whom he shares a special bond.
While the tonality of 'Jojo Rabbit' is in parts quirky, funny and heartwarming, as the layers unfold it's the moving and poignant moments of the film that really stand out – like when Jojo and his mother find people hung to death at the town square, and he asks her, “What did they do?”. She tells him, “They did what they could.” The meaning of which he only understands much later coupled with a heartwreching scene. And when Elsa, cooped up in the box room, tells Jojo that what she misses most is the freedom to dance. Even Elsa and Rosie’s conversation about what women do out in the world is unforgettable. As does the recurring motif of tying shoelaces that gives expression to Jojo's transition from boyhood.
While 'Jojo Rabbit' is in many ways a coming-of-age film, with its satirical stance it is also an audacious one. It's a film that hits hard and makes for an overwhelming cinematic experience with the mix of conflicting emotions that it throws open.
