December
28
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Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Given the polarisation of opinion about Jojo Rabbit (2019), it would be so much easier not to write this review at all. However, it is incumbent on me to explain why this movie is one of the worst I have seen in years.
The trailer captures the narrative essence of this war comedy drama. Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a ten-year old German boy who aspires to be a Nazi killing-machine but his Hitler Youth camp squad nickname him Rabbit because he runs away when ordered to kill one. When he finds Jewish teenager Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) sheltered in the attic he has the chance to betray her in service of the Fuhrer, but his conscience comes into play.
This narrative arc is grounded in a predictable coming of age tale. A magical fantasy device frames the story wherein Jojo has an imaginary friend that only he can see, a campy goofball version of Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi) who urges him to betray Elsa. With the Allied armies closing in, the German war effort enters its dying days and Jojo must confront Nazi lies.
Whether one thinks this film is a comedy or travesty is entirely subjective. Many will laugh at a puerile script delivered in gratingly mangled German accents with incongruous contemporary phrasing. Others may enjoy non-stop dead-pan exchanges, such as Elsa asking “what am I?”, with Jojo answering “a Jew”, to which Elsa replies “Gesundheit”. Or when a female commandant (Rebel Wilson) tells Nazi girls it’s a privilege to serve German soldiers: she has borne eighteen children already so “it’s a great time to be a girl”. Some will even think Jojo’s cartoonish Hitler is a credibly funny representation of evil, perhaps unaware of the all-time satirical classic: the goose-stepping John Cleese and his “don’t mention the war” skit. Where Cleese had surgical control of his mockery, Jojo’s Hitler sprays cheap one-liners that are cringingly unfunny.
It is argued that half of today’s generation know very little about Hitler, Nazism, and the Holocaust, so films like this potentially alert us to the dangers of extreme politics. Jojo Rabbit may have worked had it opted for clarity or gravity of purpose; its stellar cast make little difference. It is a mashup of so many genres that any meaningful message is lost, and all is sacrificed to low brow gags. The film’s most serious moments struggle for respect under the shadow of slapstick, kitsch, and the use of stand-up comedy to portray humanity’s darkest time misses its mark. Even its implicit reference to the madness of contemporary American political leadership is so obscure as to be irrelevant. With a climax that mocked my staying power, this film is, at best, original in conception but a misfire in execution.
Director: Taika Waititi
Stars: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Taika Waititi, Rebel Wilson, Scarlett Johansson
CineMuseFilms 
Felt the same, but have not wanted to attempt a review.
Yours is “ right on”.
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I found this review hard to articulate, because IMO it was not just a bit disappointing…. it was a cringe to watch. It really offended my intelligence, not my moral sensitivities.
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I can totally see how you would review this film in this manner as the filmmakers take such a big risk making jokes about war and the holocaust. However, I think it is, while tonally all over the place, one of the best comedy films of the year and close to being one of my favourites. Great review as usual.
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I’m glad you liked it Paul and I enjoyed reading your thoughtful review. I am not offended by attempts to satirise any form of evil; its just that IMO the slapstick antics and banal inauthentic script detracted from what the film could have achieved.
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I know what you mean exactly. I think it’s amazing that after making Thor:Ragnarok the filmmaker just decided to throw caution to the wind and take such a risk. One either finds the joke funny or does not.
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I’m very curious about this film. I just saw someone else I follow call it their favorite film of the year, so clearly it is very polarizing. But I’m sure you’re right that it can’t match the immortal “Don’t Mention the War.” Great review.
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I hope you see it Berthold and come back here to share your thoughts.
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Okay, I finally saw this film. I enjoyed it, but I can also see the validity of many of your points. My interpretation is that it’s not really meant to be a satire on Nazism, but that it’s making a more general point using Nazism as an easily-recognizable example. Hence, the many, many anachronisms, etc.
I’m currently working on a full review, and I’ll try to explain what I mean more coherently. Nevertheless, you are certainly right about the incongruous dialogue and the mis-matched accents.
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Great review, and I’m in total agreement.
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Oh boy. Thank you for saving me from this one. Maybe when it comes out on Amazon Prime or Netflix I’ll watch it from home, but I don’t think I need to go to the cinema for this one.
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If you do see it please give me a reality check and tell me what you think.
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Well, after reading praise about the film from another respected blogger, I finally got around to watching it last night. I am always disturbed by films about WWII Germany that are performed in English, or worse yet, in English with fake German accents, and this film suffered that malady minus the fake German accents. Instead the actors spoke British English. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me, given that the film seemed particularly tailored to a dumbed-down American audience. I had the feeling throughout, that the slapstick and kitsch was aimed at young, shallow-minded, Americans who have little exposure or context regarding Hitler & the Holocaust. Thus it reminded me of Animal House, a film I hate.
That said, given the preponderance of young Americans who know nothing of history, perhaps this film is a way in the back door of knowledge for them. That crowd will never expose themselves to a serious film, a subtitled film, that explores the topic. The film bled sarcasm. It is perhaps expecting too much to assume that the target audience (if I am correct in that assumption) could interpret the sarcasm even as it banged them on the head.
Jojo Rabbit is surely not on my list of remarkable movies. But if its nearly disguised message is picked up by even a few young, carefree Americans, perhaps it has served a larger purpose.
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Thank you for those generous comments; I’m glad that someone sees value in this film, where I could not.
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Hi Richard. Under normal conditions I would not have deigned to watch this film. I saw the trailer and thought it looked silly. However…these are not normal times. Confined to the house for 23 hours a day, I decided to give it a go yesterday when I discovered that it was available for streaming.
Maybe due to my very low expectations, I’ve had to revise my thinking as I responded favourably to the degree of whimsy displayed in its execution. I always enjoy the acting of Sam Rockwell and thought Rebel Wilson gave it a good shot. Even the campy Hitler portrayed by Waititi raised a smile if not a laugh.
The laboured accents were not a bother and I noticed that his friend Yorkie had a British accent and resembled ‘Piggy’ from ‘Lord of the Flies’. Yorkie was involved in one of the films more insightful moments when he was recruited for the German army at age 11, and was given an ersatz uniform made from paper. (This is very close to the truth so the joke ‘worked’ from my perspective).
I know you’ll never watch this again, but maybe my experience sheds some light on the positive reviews. Not completely out of the question given the right situation!
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