Jojo Rabbit - Review

I have not done a film review yet. Music yes, culture even. However, film reviews have thus far eluded my journalistic writings, not least because I've never seen myself as an impartial, well-informed critic on such a matter. Devout followers of my blog will know that my original blog layout featured a motivational image from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, one of my favourite films. That, Waking Ned and the work of Richard Curtis largely makes up my list of favourites. That probably tells you enough about my questionable film tastes. But I want to talk about Jojo Rabbit, a film I saw this week and was enchanted by. 

Based on a novel by Christine Leunens, it tells the story of a brainwashed member of the Hitler Youth in the dying months of WWII, who finds out that his mother is hiding a young Jewish woman (Elsa) in their spare bedroom. The film, promoted as an anti-hate satire, focuses on how his experiences and interactions with Elsa undermine the hatred he is relentlessly bombarded with. Plus, director Taika Waititi stars as a caricature of Adolf Hitler, who our protagonist is imaginary friends with. The film has its surrounding sensitivities, but I want to discuss them here and give my opinions on them

There is a very fine line between making fun of the Nazis, and demeaning both them and their shear evilness. With every individual carrying their own opinion, it is possible that some will take a different opinion to me (indeed, some already have). However, I believe that Waititi successfully negotiates this tightrope. Slapstick humour is a common feature of Jojo Rabbit and means that whilst deaths and wounds are sudden and perhaps don't get the same directorial focus of other war films, it remains impactful enough for the audience to not remotely begin to sympathise towards the ethnic and cultural chauvinism prominent throughout the film. The late introduction of Stephen Merchant's character, a Gestapo agent, reinforces this even as opinions on other characters (most notably Sam Rockwell's) perhaps begin to soften.

As you may deduce from my aforementioned favourites, I like films with a moral compass, that are both funny and emotive, whilst occasionally holding me in suspense. Ultimately, I want to feel good walking out of the cinema. Jojo Rabbit twisted my emotions from one extreme to another throughout and left me feeling perhaps the most emotional towards a film I've ever felt since the end of About Time or the 'Married Life' montage in Up. Speaking of which, Michael Giacchino - the composer of both Up and Jojo Rabbit - perhaps one of the greatest film score composers of recent times along with John Williams and Hans Zimmer, to me has cemented his status in this film. His score in times of utmost poignancy excellently counterbalances the slapstick humour of much of the film. Emotions which, one scene before, would've felt impossible to convey hit the audience with such sharp precision that I was left in awe by the time the credits started rolling and beyond. Admittedly, the use of David Bowie's music at the end did definitely help.

With films, I'm always irked by the way in which film critics impart opinions on genres of films they don't like. It is hardly a good representation of the film. For example, if you are not a fan of slap-stick comedy or overtly comfortable with satirising hatred and ignorance, this film is unlikely to please, in the same way some critics may view Chris Morris' 'Four Lions' or Armando Iannucci's ' The Death of Stalin' with derision. Indeed, I saw one critique of Jojo Rabbit say that the film was "not really something we need to hear in 2019, with white nationalism back in vogue". My message in response would be that this film is not intended for an audience of White Nationalists but rather serves as a reminder to the film's target audience of the dangers of far-right rhetoric and the importance of remaining compassionate, caring and funny at times. Some jokes, especially early on in the film, do fall a little flat but to say the film is unfunny would be a gross misrepresentation.

In short, I'm unlikely to now go trawling through Taika Waititi's filmography after this film, not least due to my pickiness when it comes to films. But for Jojo Rabbit, I doff my Trilby towards him in appreciation. To me, Jojo Rabbit is a funny, heartwarming and ultimately compassionate film for what perhaps is a relatively niche audience. And with this year looking like another key barometer for nationalism around the world, to some, Jojo Rabbit might be just the film they need...