JoJo Rabbit is Taika Waititi’s first movie since his enormous success with Thor: Ragnarok. According to interviews with Waititi (the writer, director, and one of the lead actors), producing his anti-hate passion project was greatly discouraged by studio executives. The black comedy was reportedly rejected and shot down several times before he was able to get it greenlit. Considering the premise, this isn’t too surprising.
The film tells the story of Hitler Youth member JoJo Betzler (played by Roman Griffin Davis) finding Elsa, a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) he discovers hiding in his attic. Oh, and JoJo's imaginary best friend, Hitler (played by Waititi himself). It takes inspiration from Christine Leunen’s Caging Skies, translating the plot into what Waititi calls an “anti-hate satire”, mocking the current social climate, with his signature humorous style.
I’ve been excited for JoJo Rabbit since it was announced in 2018, as a big fan of Waititi’s movies, and as the release date rolled around, I couldn’t help but see headlines of reviews. Because the release of JoJo was limited, critics had seen the movie about two weeks before it was even released anywhere near San Jose. I tried to avoid reading any full reviews while I waited for the movie to come near San Jose, but I had high hopes from the little I had glimpsed.
So, was JoJo Rabbit good? Is it a movie worth chasing down showtimes at distant theaters to watch?
In short: Yes. Hell yes, even. JoJo Rabbit is a perfect blending of drama, comedy, and commentary. It keeps the humor of its premise without any jokes feeling old or repetitive, and the serious moments of the story really hit home. Especially when contrasted with the advertisements, which give very little implication of the dark twists the story might take. Its critique of hatred, and how people are indoctrinated into hatred, through the lens of a ten year old boy is especially interesting. JoJo is shown to be naive and well-meaning, and even knowing his stance as a member of the Hitler youth. Seeing how little he truly understands them and how few of those ideas are his own makes it difficult not to root for him. He repeatedly calls upon blatantly untrue stereotypes of Jewish people in talking to Elsa, and his wholehearted belief in them hammers home how ridiculous prejudices are.
JoJo also excels in its portrayals of the Nazi villains as simultaneously threatening and laughably idiotic. In the theater, there were several scenes where the laughter of the audience immediately cut out as tension within the plot rose. The story never makes light of the topics it covers, but the movie doesn’t shy away from using humor to examine its setting. It ridicules prejudice’s abject stupidity while acknowledging how dangerous it can be in action.
The actors were also perfectly suited for their roles, especially Roman Griffin Davis himself. This movie is his first major acting role, and he very clearly shines in both the humorous scenes and in portraying JoJo’s inner conflict against the mindset of his country.
Taika Waititi’s JoJo Rabbit is an extremely good movie that tells an even better message. If you’re looking for something that is both thoughtful and funny, I would implore you to seek out a theater showing JoJo asap. It delivers on the humor, emotion, and is deeply relevant to current real-world events.
The film tells the story of Hitler Youth member JoJo Betzler (played by Roman Griffin Davis) finding Elsa, a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) he discovers hiding in his attic. Oh, and JoJo's imaginary best friend, Hitler (played by Waititi himself). It takes inspiration from Christine Leunen’s Caging Skies, translating the plot into what Waititi calls an “anti-hate satire”, mocking the current social climate, with his signature humorous style.
I’ve been excited for JoJo Rabbit since it was announced in 2018, as a big fan of Waititi’s movies, and as the release date rolled around, I couldn’t help but see headlines of reviews. Because the release of JoJo was limited, critics had seen the movie about two weeks before it was even released anywhere near San Jose. I tried to avoid reading any full reviews while I waited for the movie to come near San Jose, but I had high hopes from the little I had glimpsed.
So, was JoJo Rabbit good? Is it a movie worth chasing down showtimes at distant theaters to watch?
In short: Yes. Hell yes, even. JoJo Rabbit is a perfect blending of drama, comedy, and commentary. It keeps the humor of its premise without any jokes feeling old or repetitive, and the serious moments of the story really hit home. Especially when contrasted with the advertisements, which give very little implication of the dark twists the story might take. Its critique of hatred, and how people are indoctrinated into hatred, through the lens of a ten year old boy is especially interesting. JoJo is shown to be naive and well-meaning, and even knowing his stance as a member of the Hitler youth. Seeing how little he truly understands them and how few of those ideas are his own makes it difficult not to root for him. He repeatedly calls upon blatantly untrue stereotypes of Jewish people in talking to Elsa, and his wholehearted belief in them hammers home how ridiculous prejudices are.
JoJo also excels in its portrayals of the Nazi villains as simultaneously threatening and laughably idiotic. In the theater, there were several scenes where the laughter of the audience immediately cut out as tension within the plot rose. The story never makes light of the topics it covers, but the movie doesn’t shy away from using humor to examine its setting. It ridicules prejudice’s abject stupidity while acknowledging how dangerous it can be in action.
The actors were also perfectly suited for their roles, especially Roman Griffin Davis himself. This movie is his first major acting role, and he very clearly shines in both the humorous scenes and in portraying JoJo’s inner conflict against the mindset of his country.
Taika Waititi’s JoJo Rabbit is an extremely good movie that tells an even better message. If you’re looking for something that is both thoughtful and funny, I would implore you to seek out a theater showing JoJo asap. It delivers on the humor, emotion, and is deeply relevant to current real-world events.