Jojo Rabbit’s Heartwarming Coming-of-Age Story Nominated for Best Picture
First still from the set of WW2 satire, JOJO RABIT. (From L-R): Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) has dinner with his imaginary friend Adolf (Writer/Director Taika Waititi), and his mother, Rosie (Scarlet Johansson). Photo by Kimberley French. © 2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
Image courtesy of Time magazine
By Katie Ward
Jojo Rabbit is an Academy Award’s Best Picture nominee that follows the adventures of Johannes “Jojo” Betzler, a 10-year-old militant supporter of the Third Reich whose closest confidant is his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, played by director Taiki Waititi. The coming-of-age film was released on November 8, 2019 and has a 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The imaginary Hitler’s patriotic encouragement bounces off of Jojo’s dour disposition for almost the entirety of the film, providing much-needed comic relief while simultaneously providing updates on Germany’s war efforts.
Jojo begrudgingly befriends a Jewish girl who is hiding in the wall of his late sister’s room. The timid and tender friendship that grows between the two prompts Jojo to question everything he believed in so credulously and coincides with the change of every authority figure in his life.
The second half of the movie, while retaining the humorous tone through appearances of Jojo’s Hitler and the determination of the child soldiers led by Rebel Wilson as Fraulein Rahm, takes on a more serious tone. Perhaps one of the most touching moments comes at the very end at the hands of Captain Klenzendorf, played by Sam Rockwell. The sudden change in tone furthers the theme of innocent unawareness and naiveté that comes with a young narrator.
Waititi, writer and director of Thor: Ragnarok, wrote, directed and produced the film, which is nominated for six Oscar. One of the nominations includes an original score by Michael Giacchino who also created the score for the films Up, Doctor Strange, Zootopia, Rogue One, and Spider Man: Homecoming. 12-year-old Roman Griffin Davis, who plays Jojo Betzler, was supported by wonderful performances from Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa Korr and Scarlett Johannson as Jojo’s mother Rosie.
“It’s just this balance between outrageous comedy and moments of more mournful reflection that gives Jojo Rabbit its momentum and higher purpose,” said Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post. “Set to an anachronistic pop soundtrack and an eye-poppingly attractive production design that would be right at home in a Wes Anderson movie, this is a film that dares you not to enjoy its material pleasures, even as you wonder if you should be laughing quite so hard at the jokes.”
Full of moments of joyful grief, Jojo Rabbit is a tender and sincere depiction of the changes that come from a war through a child’s eyes. Love notes written to a girl hidden in the wall, dances to German versions of pop tunes, and the fiery zeal that only a ten-year-old can uphold all contribute to the inherent sweetness and humor that the film carries.
