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Review

Duration: 10:39

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5

This review may contain spoilers.

"Jojo Rabbit" (2019) directed by Taika Waititi is a beautiful mix of satirical comedy and genuine sadness. I personally enjoyed it a ton but I will note that if you are Jewish or have connections to the Holocaust this will be an unwatchable film for you as it does get serious and heavy towards the end.

Ten year old Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is excited to be a part of Hitler Youth, an organization of the Nazi Party in Germany designed to indoctrinate children into evil beliefs against Jews and anyone else who does not fit Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi)'s "Aryan race." Jojo can't bring himself to kill a rabbit when asked to, which earns him the nickname of Jojo Rabbit and sets up the theme of the film that Jojo is not a true Nazi. Jojo returns home to his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), and discovers she has been harboring a Jewish girl in the walls named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie). Jojo begins to fall in love with Elsa and lets go of his hate in this powerful story.

Jojo Rabbit has great comedy which was the reason it piqued my interest in the first place, but that is honestly one of the more forgotten elements of the film by the end of it, at least to me. This is actually a powerful and daring modern take on anti-hate which holds nothing back. Everything presented to the audience is pure and of artistry, there is no self censorship or tip toeing over sensitive topics. As I said before, I don't think a Jewish person who has ties to the Holocaust (although as a non-Jewish person It's probably more likely that every single Jew has some ties or feelings towards this major historical event so please excuse my ignorance), but that certainly does not make it a bad film just because one group of people's can't watch / enjoy it the same way the rest of us who have no affiliation to German or Jewish backgrounds can.

This is a seriously emotional and heavy narrative despite the jokes and satire present. There are numerous scenes where you will find yourself on the brink of tears even if you have no ties to the historical significance of these events. The actors perform excellently and one of my personal favorites Thomasin McKenzie performs so respectably and genuine here. I also want to give a mention to our lead Roman Griffin Davis for taking on such a controversial but powerful role at his young age.

Jojo Rabbit is one of the best films I've ever seen. It's hard to believe the same guy that directed "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022) directed this one.

#rainynights #movies #jojorabbit