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There is a scene in this film that nearly tore me apart. When one walks into a Taika Waititi film about a young Nazi boy and his invisible Hitler friend (played by Waititi no less) you would think it would aim for the funny and leave it at that. Yet Waititi injects some dark moments that trip you up for a second. Some would argue it has a tone issue that it cannot balance, I disagree. The laughs are in the right places, the moments of sadness and time to pause are in the right places. Even some tense moments involving Stephen Merchant work in the right places. The initial scene I'm referring to is simply a shot of some shoes. It's something that I'll be thinking about for a few days, I'm sure.
Don't let that sombre intro fool you though, JoJo Rabbit is funny. Whether or not you think it's right to laugh at Nazi's and the time period is totally up to you, but having Hitler be played up in a parody of sorts by a Jewish man is enough of a kick to the nuts to the guy that I can't pass it up. The film never downplays the atrocities of what happened, but it does show how ridiculous the Nazi's are and stripping them away of their "powers" by showing their "Hail Hitler" salute over 30 times in one minute, among other scenes that are just as good.
JoJo Rabbit at first might seem like a Wes Anderson Moonrise Kingdom companion piece, but it soon finds its own identity. There are two relationships in this film, JoJo and the Jewish girl, then JoJo and his mother. Johansson plays the mother role and there is a small bit of a Life is Beautiful vibe as she tries her best to make sure JoJo sees a brighter side to life and not the death and murder that takes place just outside their door. She even puts on a bit of a performance piece when she pretends to be the boy's father. The entire cast is good, with the exception of Rebel Wilson who just plays...Rebel Wilson.
JoJo Rabbit is obviously not a film for everyone, but it's one that knows the line and isn't afraid to jump all around it.
JoJo Rabbit
"Our Only Friends Are The Japanese And Just Between You And Me, They Don't Look Very Aryan"
"Our Only Friends Are The Japanese And Just Between You And Me, They Don't Look Very Aryan"
There is a scene in this film that nearly tore me apart. When one walks into a Taika Waititi film about a young Nazi boy and his invisible Hitler friend (played by Waititi no less) you would think it would aim for the funny and leave it at that. Yet Waititi injects some dark moments that trip you up for a second. Some would argue it has a tone issue that it cannot balance, I disagree. The laughs are in the right places, the moments of sadness and time to pause are in the right places. Even some tense moments involving Stephen Merchant work in the right places. The initial scene I'm referring to is simply a shot of some shoes. It's something that I'll be thinking about for a few days, I'm sure.
Don't let that sombre intro fool you though, JoJo Rabbit is funny. Whether or not you think it's right to laugh at Nazi's and the time period is totally up to you, but having Hitler be played up in a parody of sorts by a Jewish man is enough of a kick to the nuts to the guy that I can't pass it up. The film never downplays the atrocities of what happened, but it does show how ridiculous the Nazi's are and stripping them away of their "powers" by showing their "Hail Hitler" salute over 30 times in one minute, among other scenes that are just as good.
JoJo Rabbit at first might seem like a Wes Anderson Moonrise Kingdom companion piece, but it soon finds its own identity. There are two relationships in this film, JoJo and the Jewish girl, then JoJo and his mother. Johansson plays the mother role and there is a small bit of a Life is Beautiful vibe as she tries her best to make sure JoJo sees a brighter side to life and not the death and murder that takes place just outside their door. She even puts on a bit of a performance piece when she pretends to be the boy's father. The entire cast is good, with the exception of Rebel Wilson who just plays...Rebel Wilson.
JoJo Rabbit is obviously not a film for everyone, but it's one that knows the line and isn't afraid to jump all around it.