Let’s start with the director. Taika Waititi is an interesting case. He’s often been hailed as one of Hollywood’s best up-and-comers, but up until Jojo Rabbit, I’d yet to fully love one of his films. While Thor: Ragnarok is certainly an entertaining, entirely competent superhero flick, it’s one of the more overrated MCU entries, in my opinion. (Which is, as always, the correct opinion.) The other two of his I’ve seen, Shadows and Wilderpeople, are also both very enjoyable and well worth your time. Just not home runs in my book.
But Jojo Rabbit feels like something different. Waititi & Co. heavily marketed this Nazi wartime tragicomedy as an “anti-hate satire,” which some would say is a thing we could use in these tumultuous modern times. As we know, Waititi cast himself as little Aryan Jojo’s imaginary best friend, Adolf Hitler, in part as a “fuck you to that guy.” (“That guy” being Adolf Hitler.) So right off the bat, this is a film that isn’t willing to dip its toes into the metaphorical pool of controversy.
If you’ve seen the movie (which, presumably, you have), you know what moment I’m talking about. After a tense run-in with the SS, Jojo discovers his mother (Johansson) hanging in the town square, and… well… the other shoe… drops. Okay, I’m not proud of that one. No missed opportunities though.
But anyways, this is the magic trick that Jojo Rabbit pulls off brilliantly. In earning your trust with some really great screwball comedy, Waititi is able to break your heart and stitch it back together seamlessly by the end of the film. One of the main critical complaints I’ve heard is “tonal whiplash,” and while I can see the moment in the square being the point where a few viewers fall off the wagon, it totally worked for me.
Lemme back up just a little bit, though. Perhaps the most flawlessly executed scene in the entire film is the surprise SS inspection that immediately precedes Rosie’s tragic demise. In a way, this scene is a microcosm for the entire film. What starts as a hilarious comedic gag: “Heil, Hitler!.... Heil, Hitler!” turns sinister and deadly serious when Elsa reveals herself as Jojo’s sister and has to play along with this charade. Like I said, it’s a microcosm of Jojo Rabbit as a whole: what could be just throwaway humor is transformed into first-rate drama.
The visual style of Jojo Rabbit also fascinates me. I’ve heard it described as “Wes Anderson-light,” which makes a lot of sense.
Sidenote: knowing that, is it any surprise that I’ve just recently begun looking into Anderson’s filmography? It’s all connected, folks…
But some truly remarkable things are done with the color palette of this film. What starts out as a bright, pastel German world - symbolic of Jojo’s naive enthusiasm for the Nazi cause - slowly but surely fades as battles are fought, lives are lost, and the facade Jojo’s put his faith in starts to peel away. This trend continues right up until the very end of the film, when the Americans arrive and things start to look bright again. It’s a really ingenious use of color, and I love the visual design of this film as a whole.
It’s also interesting to me how Waititi’s “imaginary Hitler” changes over the course of the film. While he starts out as an affable goofball who Jojo sees as a father figure, he slowly becomes more and more menacing as Jojo grows closer to Elsa and begins challenging the propaganda he’s believed in for so long. And in the end, after the battle’s been fought and Jojo’s done a fair bit of growing up, “imaginary Hitler” is shown as he truly is: a raving lunatic and an albatross around Jojo’s neck, whom he may as well just punt out the window because “fuck that guy,” right?
Also: it’s worth noting that Watiti’s Hitler is used sparingly, and I think that’s for the best. In making him an imaginary figure who comes and goes over the course of the film, he’s able to get away with a little bit more.
The one flaw of this film I am inclined to agree with is that there are some second act pacing issues. I’ve heard it said that most of this comes from the scenes featuring Jojo and Elsa talking alone in the bedroom - which I agree with. But the problem is, these scenes are also the true heart of Jojo Rabbit, so perhaps you sacrifice a little bit of entertainment value for emotional impact.
Ahh, what else can I rattle off quickly? In the “Best of,” I made a point to mention how much I dig the film’s anachronistic soundtrack - it’s a really left-of-center choice, but one that made the big moments hit so much harder for me. Tom Waits! The Beatles! And the use of “Helden,” Bowie’s German recording of “Heroes” over the final moments - well, it’s one of the most beautiful endings to a film I’ve ever seen, hands down.
So to wrap things up in a nice little bow, I’ll admit that Jojo Rabbit isn’t a perfect movie, but I think it’s as good as it possibly could’ve been. It juggles both humor and heart flawlessly, and it’s my favorite film of Waititi’s to date. And I’m sure it’s an excellent film to play solitaire over.
Image & Info Sources! (Seriously, DOn't you people have jobs?)
m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjU0Yzk2MzEtMjAzYy00MzY0LTg2YmItM2RkNzdkY2ZhN2JkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNDg4NjY5OTQ@._V1_UX
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Jojo Rabbit IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt2584384/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Taika Waititi article: www.indiewire.com/2019/05/taika-waititi-hitler-research-jojo-rabbit-1202141450/
Jojo image one:
img1.looper.com/img/gallery/the-real-reason-taika-waititi-played-the-role-of-hitler-in-jojo-rabbit/intro-1581347735.jpg
Rosie image:
i1.wp.com/cornellsun.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/arts-page-7-courtesy-of-whoever-made-this-movie-.png?fit=600%2C346
Jojo image two:
hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/jojo-rabbit-taika-waititi-roman-griffin-davis-1572515942.jpg
Klenzendorf image: www.the-declaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/image1-1050x591.png
"Everybody's Gotta Live:" www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zl8ihTOuz4
Jojo Rabbit Ending Scene: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfL5V3WHhqM