Waititi has proved himself a master of comedy, action and drama with his last few movies. The Hunt For The WIlderpeople propelled the New Zealand auteur to global attention and drew enormous critical praise. He followed that with the Marvel blockbuster Thor Ragnarok, which breathed exciting new life into the franchise. His latest movie mixes comedy, drama and history in his boldest and bravest work yet. Tackling the Nazi regime’s treatment of jews is tricky enough, introducing an imaginary (and often ridiculous) Hitler takes it to a whole new level.
Rather like 2016’s The Hunt For The WIlderpeople, JoJo Rabbit centres on a lonely young boy but this time it is set in World War II Germany.
JoJo (Roman Griffin Davis) is doted on by his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) but, desperate for a place to belong, he idolises the Nazi party. So much so that his imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler. Together they begin to find friends and a community in the Hitler Youth.
Of course, with hindsight, nothing about this situation is amusing, but Waititi excels at showing audiences the world through another’s eyes, and so we only know what Jojo knows.
His understanding starts to change when he discovers his mother has been sheltering a young Jewish woman in the attic.
As JoJo starts to understand the world around him more clearly, he must choose what to believe and what is right.
An A-list cast also includes Rebel Wilson as a Nazi Youth leader enthusiastically organising book burnings and Stephen Merchant as a Nazi agent thrilled to discover a child who seems so dedicated to the cause.
Even in Thor Ragnarok, Waititi was able to draw true pathos and humanity from the craziest of situations. This time, the tone may be light and farcical at times, but the movie delivers a powerful and moving examination of how we all learn who we are.
Jojo is told: “You’re not a Nazi, JoJo, you’re a ten-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club.”
This could apply to any child and many adults, whatever the situation.
The last word and underlying message goes to Johansson; “They’ll never win. Love is the strongest thing in the world.”
JOJO RABBIT is out in UK cinemas on January 1