Amy Lemco, Arts & Life Writer “Jojo Rabbit” is a coming-of-age comedy following Johannes “Jojo” Betzler, a German boy whose imaginary best friend is Adolf Hitler, a relationship he intends to convert to reality through blind loyalty and service to the Nazi cause. Oh, and it is a comedy. Yes, a satire about the Hitler Youth at the end of World War II. How does a movie like this catapult into my top five movies of all time? The film was loosely inspired by the first half of the novel “Caging Skies,” by Catherine Leunens. The book is a much more traditionally-dark look at the war and other themes. To say that director Taika Waititi “adapted” the text is like saying bones are an adaptation of an exoskeleton: eons of evolution are left out of that sentence; they are simply two different creatures. Waititi also co-stars as Hitler--or Hilter--as imagined by a naive child with wavering self-esteem, who very much wants to believe the propaganda of personal and communal strength and invulnerability. Not only is Waititi’s subtle performance so perfect that I cannot imagine another actor in the role, it would probably have been irresponsible to ask anyone else to risk their career and reputation on such a potentially problematic performance. As it is, Waititi’s adaptation blends the deadpan humor of his previous work with the pathos of Roberto Begnini’s “Life is Beautiful,” the artistic beauty of a Wes Anderson film (with even richer color), and a touch of “Son of Rambow” or “Little Rascals.” In other words, it might be a perfect movie. Of course, it should not be the first film anyone watches to educate themselves about the terror and genocide that surrounded the war, still living in a few survivors’ memories and immoralized in history books. Context is required. In an interview with “Variety,” Stephen Merchant (who plays a Gestapo enforcer in the film) reminds movie-goers that Hitler has “been the subject of [...] mockery since he was alive.” In 1938, with Hitler in power and the United States reluctant to enter the war, Charlie Chaplin satirized the war-monger in “The Great Dictator.” While making the film, Chaplin began to realize the darkness of Nazi ideology went much deeper and further than he knew, and was reluctant to finish--and later regretted--making the comedy. Where “The Great Dictator” perhaps fails is the use of Chaplin’s acrobatic physical comedy, which distracts from the message. However, Chaplin triumphs in undermining the image of Nazi Germany, as he calls, in his first speaking role, for us “to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery.” As Waititi said in his “Variety” interview, satire is “a real weapon against [those] who spread hate and intolerance,” as it pulls “at the thread of the fabric of what they believe in and the regimes that they establish.” There are many films, books, testimonies and artifacts that reveal--to the best of their ability--the horror of genocide, and these must be taken alongside something like “Jojo Rabbit.” However, bringing satire to the table, as Waititi said, is another way to“keep the conversation going”--conversation that empowers people to recognize, deconstruct and reject the propaganda of hatred. “Jojo Rabbit” peels away the scientific facade of Nazi ideology, revealing with dark, layered humor how absurd it is that people believe in the danger and inferority of the “other.” The opening credits overlay real footage of wildly cheering Nazi crowds with a German recording of The Beatles, “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” setting an upbeat tone (while referencing the Nazi salute, no easy feat) and commenting on the power of crowd mentality to be used for good or evil. Having a soundtrack that spans centuries and continents, from Strauss to a German recording of David Bowie’s “Heroes” (another track with layered meaning), fits the tone and reminds viewers that the choice for happiness or misery, critical thinking or blind obedience is always before us. Likewise, every shot is not only a beautiful vignette but is loaded with meaning. Do we see a reference to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s tale of captivity, oppression and insanity, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” in the set design of one of the main bedrooms? How about when Jojo and his mother stand beside the river, discussing whether love or metal is stronger, and what the outcome of the war will be--whatever the answer, they have a pyramid of concrete steps to climb to get to the top? Many of the images have twin shots later in the film, which adds to the unity and makes multiple viewings more enjoyable. “Jojo” is the debut film for its young leads, stars in ascension Roman Griffin Davis, as Jojo, and Archie Yates as Jojo’s “second best” friend, Yorki. Their innocence, curiosity, resilience and connection are the heart of the film. Using children as a lens through which to view the culture humanizes Germans in a way drama sometimes does, but satires like Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” often do not. We all begin life believing in the basic truth-telling of others, and many of us still have work to do to become critical thinkers. In the meantime, everyone who is injured by war--bullied, maligned by misinformation--is someone’s child. Although Waititi’s Hitler is a manifestation of a naive boy’s need for a stronger self-image, the repressed darkness of the ideology cannot escape Jojo’s subconscious. It increasingly seeps through, revealing the real man’s maniacal egoism and ultimate cowardice. Ultimately, like all coming-of-age stories, the cost to Jojo is tremendous. However, a theme that is mirrored in other Waititi’s films is that some pain and loss are imposed on us, while some are an inevitable part of life. Waititi sets you up to “look a tiger in the eye,” and come to the other side with hope in your heart and affirmation for the beauty of life.
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