[REVIEW] Jojo Rabbit

[thrillingdetectivetales]

After spending the majority of Sunday morning nursing a minor hangover, I dragged myself into general respectability around midday and went with a friend to see Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit, which has been on my "to watch" list for a considerable amount of time.

For those of you who may not be familiar, Jojo Rabbit is that WWII movie about a boy in the Hitler-Jugend who envisions dear ol' Adolf as his imaginary best friend and dreams of being the best Nazi he can be, only to have a wrench thrown into his plans when he discovers that his mother has been hiding a young Jewish girl in their house. The trailer, in true Taika Waititi fashion, was funny and charming and borrowed heavily from the Wes Anderson School of Winsome Aesthetics, of which I am generally a fan. I walked into it expecting a long-form joke at the expense of the Nazis that didn't take itself too seriously, and while part of what the movie delivered was just that, part of it was decidedly not.

There were colorful characters and laughs aplenty, but the film's narrative took some dark and surprisingly realistic turns into what the experience might have been like to live as an objector in a world largely populated by unquestioning Nazi sympathizers. It was one part coming-of-age story and one part cautionary tale, all wrapped up in a neat little bow of quaint storybook colors and delightful vintage costuming and décor. The actual historical war accuracy is fairly low, but this was a movie with a modern point to make through a historic lens rather than a legitimate period piece, so I didn't much mind.

For a narrative that spins on the crux of comedy fueled in the forges of intolerance and hate, I will agree that Jojo Rabbit doesn't offer much by way of concise, clearly delivered answers as to how we ought to deal with those problems. I read a review in Variety Fair that asserted the film was an overall failure for riding its own satire-as-rebellion in-joke rather than providing said takeaways to the audience, but I have to respectfully disagree.

First off, I would argue that a film that invites discussion and interaction after the fact is doing more to affect a viewer's mind than a film that beats them about the head and shoulders with a pithy one-line solution to a huge and nuanced problem. Secondly, I would argue that Jojo Rabbit actually does provide the viewer with answers. It just also relies on viewer to be smart enough to suss those answers out on their own.

The over-arching theme of the film seemed to be that we, as rebellious voices in an era electrified by the resurgence of a truly deadly hate, are required by our moral code to dissent in any way we can, no matter how small it may feel at the time. At a point during the film, Jojo's mother tells their Jewish stowaway that her continued existence, pitiful though it may be while she's confined to a few paltry feet in a German family's wall, is in itself an act of dissension against the Nazi regime, and that even so small a thing as existing is important. I thought this was a particularly poignant statement to make to an American audience, where morality or the lack thereof seem to be the only two points that matter on a pendulum arc with a heavy swing.


The film also begs the question of what a person is supposed to do when someone they care about has been/is being indoctrinated into that kind of hate, which I felt was also a prescient conundrum for many members of an American audience. The film doesn't offer any clear-cut answers there, either. Largely, I think, because there aren't any. Navigating these kinds of socio-moral dilemmas is not a science. There's no checklist you can work down, no one thing you can say or do to ensure that your loved ones don't fall under the spell of a damaging ideology and Jojo Rabbit makes that point again and again, showing us through Jojo's relationship with his mother and with the girl in their crawlspace that simply existing in the face of that kind of hate can be enough to break through its hold and safely shepherd those taken in by its lies through to the other side.

Overall, I enjoyed Jojo Rabbit enough that I plan to add it to my permanent collection once it comes out on disc. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys Taika Waititi's general carefree humor with the caveat that while there are plenty of delightful moments and a lot of laughs, the film itself is not an exclusively happy experience. Jojo has a lot of growing to do when we meet him in the beginning and there's a lot of pain on the path he'll have to take to get there, if he follows it at all.

If you're looking for a good laugh that'll also tug your heartstrings, give it a gander and let me know what you think!

Comments

[lt_aldo_raine]

I completely agree with this review. I also went into the film expecting it to be a little more along the lines of Mel Brooks' The Producers, more of a long-running joke than anything else. But, like you, I was pleasantly surprised at the weight of the project. I also agree that the film is successful in inviting reflection; just yesterday, I overheard a group of college students discussing the film (albeit somewhat trivially) and heard certain figures in modern American politics related to certain historical figures from the film. So, ya know...

I also feel like Waititi managed to touch on a lot of aspects of the rise of the National Socialist party that are often overlooked, especially in Hollywood blockbusters. Obviously, the indoctrination of children, but also the experience of closeted homosexuals within the party (see, Sam Rockwell's flamboyantly gay Nazi), the emphasis on procreation of the Aryan race (hey, Rebel Wilson), etc. I especially appreciated that these issues weren't heavily explored; at no point did Waititi step on a soap box or turn the film into a docu-lecture. He simply peppered in the details and let these micro-moments speak for themselves, which I think worked well to not distract from Jojo's development while it also spoke to the complexities of German society under the Third Reich.

I thoroughly enjoyed JoJo Rabbit. I laughed aloud several times, winced at a few others, and teared up more than once. Overall, highly recommend.

[thrillingdetectivetales]

I absolutely agree with you on the effectiveness of letting those details re: indoctrination and the rise of the National Socialist party speak for themselves. And glad that you enjoyed it too!

I may or may not have had to smack my own hands to keep from writing quickfic about Sam Rockwell’s character...

[lt_aldo_raine]

But omg do it. Write the quickfic. lol.