Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Scarlett Johansson, Archie Yates, Sam Rockwell, Thomasin McKenzie, and Rebel Wilson
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios
Runtime: 108 mins. Reviewed in Dec 2019
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This American satirical comedy is based on the book “Caging Skies” written by Christine Leunen in 2008. It tells the story of a young Hitler Youth who finds out his beloved mother is hiding a Jewish girl. It is a serious novel, but the film is communicated as a satirical comedy. The Director of the film, New Zealander, Taika Waititi, was previously responsible for the inventive, “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” which brilliantly combined pathos with humour. “JoJo Rabbit” won the People’s’ Choice Award at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival.
The film tells the story of Johannes “JoJo” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), a young 10 year old, German boy, who lives with his single mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) in the last year of the Second World War. JoJo is an especially enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth Movement, and has a blind fanaticism for the Third Reich. JoJo talks regularly with an imaginary friend, Adolf (Taika Waititi), who is a fantasy, childish version of Adolf Hitler, and Adolf turns up whenever JoJo needs him emotionally. JoJo and his best real-life friend, Yorki (Archie Yates) attend a Hitler Youth training camp where young boys are exposed to cruelty and taught how to use live hand grenades. In doing that, JoJo gets injured. Rosie asks the commander of the camp, Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) to make her son feel useful despite his injuries. To demonstrate his usefulness, and in line with his fanaticism, JoJo starts spreading Nazi Propaganda leaflets through the town. Rebel Wilson plays Fraulein Rahm, a brutish instructor in the Hitler Youth camp, who boasts to the young boys about having had 18 Aryan babies.
While alone at home, JoJo discovers a teenage Jewish girl, Elsa Korr (Thomasin McKenzie) hiding upstairs in the attic. She has been hidden there by his mother, who is secretly anti-Nazi and works for the resistance. JoJo is confused. The Allies close in, and the Nazis hang people in the town- square for their sympathies, including JoJo’s mother. JoJo rushes home to Elsa to save her, which he eventually does after arguing with Elsa in whatever way he can to get her to come with him. In the concluding scenes, he and Elsa dance in the street to celebrate their new found freedom as the war ends. Elsa is a person who first angered JoJo because she was Jewish; then she interested him greatly as they talked about her life and his Jewish bias; and then his interest turned into affection. Roman Griffin Davis is particularly delightful as JoJo, who discovers the true meaning of love and affection for someone, he realises some other people despise.
This is a film whose satire is strong and biting, and Nazi atrocities are not spared. We see discrimination, brutality, persecution, and death in the name of parody. The film’s comic intent reflects a child’s imagination, and there are childish scenes which arouse a smile, but also scenes which may cause distress. The movie deals with a gruesome period of history, but it tries to find humour in its telling, and for the most part it succeeds. The fact that humour occurs is due to the creativity of the Director, Taker Waititi, and the work of a talented set of fine actors who try to find cheerfulness in a parody of terrible events.
This is an inventive anti-hate satire that walks a fine line between comic fantasy and tragedy, and mostly manages to pull the challenge off. The name of the film comes from the ritual of cruelly killing a rabbit which JoJo’s Nazi friends feel he is unable to do – and the title is the nickname used by them to mock JoJo.
The film satirises people who hate on the basis of ethnicity, and it strongly endorses the value of personal relationships built on positive feelings. The film is not just anti-Nazi satire, but is also a film that targets the politics of hatred in general. Jokes about Hitler and those who do his bidding aren’t easy jokes to sell, and Taika Waititi works hard to communicate his real intent. Viewers can judge whether a movie such as this one shows he is playing with too serious a set of themes, or he brings characteristic whimsy to demonstrate a special talent for satirical direction.
Peter W. Sheehan is Associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting
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