JOJO RABBIT
In this charming and poignant satire, a boy with a certain mustachioed imaginary friend learns the abhorrent truth about his Nazi idols when he discovers a young Jewish woman hiding in his home.
Fresh off the success of his Marvel megahit, Thor: Ragnorok, whimsical auteur Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows) goes for broke with his unexpected adaptation of Christine Leunens’s novel Caging Skies. The result is a darkly funny yet heartwarming morality tale following a 10-year-old staunch member of the Hitler Youth whose imaginary friend happens to be Adolf Hitler. Waititi does the improbable, crafting an immensely delightful and heartwarming coming-of-age tale set during the darkest days of World War II that rejects hate in favor of love. Led by the loveable Roman Griffin Davis as the titular Jojo, the film opens with the boy as he eagerly awaits his time at a Nazi Youth weekend retreat where grenade throwing is de rigueur. Though the campers’ well-being is reasonably entrusted to the drunk and cynical Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) and gun-crazy Frāulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson), a freak accident places Jojo back at home with his loving mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson). When a rumbling in his late sister’s bedroom leads to the discovery of young Jewish woman Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No Trace), Jojo must confront the lies he has been told about the feared Jewish people, horns and all. It would be a lot easier if his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler (played by Waititi himself) didn’t butt in and suggest the most outrageous courses of action. Garnering the prestigious Audience Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Jojo Rabbit is an outrageous, must-be-seen-to-be-believed, tender story of a relationship that evolves between two young people caught in the midst of a war they did not ask for.
CAST: TAIKA WAITITI, ROMAN GRIFFIN DAVIS, SCARLETT JOHANSSON, SAM ROCKWELL
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