Cedars, December 2019

December 2019 14 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT By Hunter Johnson “J ojo Rabbit” is a comedy. A com- ing-of-age comedy. A Nazi com- ing-of-age comedy. Directed by Taika Waititi, “Jojo Rabbit” tells the tale of a 10-year-old boy growing up in Nazi Germany as he attends a Hitler youth training camp. Johannes “Jojo” Betzler is a Hitler fa- natic. He’s been raised to idolize the “sav- ior” of their country. Life is simple for Jojo with Adolf Hitler as his role model until he discovers that his mother, played by Scarlett Johansson, has been hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. This is one of the oddest films of 2019. Waititi is notorious for making dark come- dies about weird subject matter. He’s direct- ed films like the vampire mockumentary, “What We Do in the Shadows,” the coming- of-age runaway story, “Hunt for the Wilder- people,” as well as the oddball superhero film, “Thor: Ragnarok.” An unwritten rule about filmmaking is to not make fun of the Holocaust. It’s not a joking matter and should be taken seriously. “Jojo Rabbit” directly breaks this rule. It’s funny, ridiculous and makes a com- plete mockery of Nazi teachings. Waititi’s direction is the reason this film works. No other director has proven that they could handle such heavy subject matter so delicately. Waititi knows exactly who he’s mocking and what kind of jokes he’s telling. Every scene is his exact vision and comes together to create a perfectly paced film. A primary focus of the film is Jojo’s interactions with his imaginary friend, an over-the-top version of Adolf Hitler, played by Waititi. His performance of an imaginary Hitler may go down in history as a pivot- al mocking of the crazed dictator, right up there with Charlie Chaplin’s historical Hit- ler performance in “The Great Dictator.” Waititi doesn’t hold back. He’s the fun- niest aspect of the film as well as the most uncomfortable to watch. He might make audiences hate Hitler even more than they already do. While Waititi’s vision is all over this film, he is by no means the main character. That role goes to the young Nazi-enthusiast that appears in nearly every scene, Jojo Bet- zler. Portrayed by newcomer Roman Grif- fin Davis, Jojo is a delight to watch. He is a fully realized boy and never once comes across an actor pretending to be a charac- ter, a common problem in coming-of-age films. Davis plays Jojo as a stubborn kid who wants nothing less than to be a Nazi, igno- rantly thinking he knows everything about the world, including what he’s been taught about the “devil-horned monsters,” or Jew- ish people. He simultaneously plays Jojo as a soft-hearted romantic, who, despite ev- erything he tells his friends, doesn’t have a violent bone in his body. Beyond Jojo and his imaginary Hitler friend, “Jojo Rabbit” consists of a fantastic supporting cast. Johansson gives one of the most unique and engaging performances of her career as Jojo’s secretly anti-Nazi moth- er. Sam Rockwell and Rebel Wilson play hilarious Nazis who run the Hitler youth camp. Thomasin McKenzie plays the young Jewish girl hiding in Jojo’s attic. She gives a nuanced performance as someone who struggles to see purpose in her life in such a seemingly hopeless situation. One of the aspects that contributes to the film’s uniqueness is the music. Famed composer Michael Giacchino (“Up,” “Star Movie Review: ‘Jojo Rabbit’ One of Year’s Oddest Films