Global Issue Discussion - Jojo Rabbit

Considering how (correctly) negative I was last time with my global issue review of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, now I’m instead going to talk positive about a film whose global issue isn’t a direct result of its own idiotic storytelling. It will be less fun to write as I don’t get to roast anything indiscriminately, but it’s still pretty interesting.

I actually can't get a better resolution image, and I can't decrease the size of this anymore. So sorry, guys.

So Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi’s mixture of emotional war drama, meditation on humanity, and sizzling black comedy, was my second-favourite film of 2019 behind Joker (which I’ll get to at some point). Along with all of the positive aspects which I’ll espouse later, the main thing that stood out to me with the film was the strong political message which applies to both Nazi Bavaria and modern-day political turmoil.

The movie starts with us being introduced to eponymous Jojo, who is about to join the Hitler Youth and is imaginary friends with Hitler, played by Waititi himself. The movie opens with an excited Jojo off to his first day at Book-Burning Camp, while a German version of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles plays over it. I was naturally a little taken aback by it, but then I realised that this is what Nazism was to Jojo – the big thing of it’s time, bigger than Jesus, and what all the cool kids on the block were doing. The movie communicates this so well and so creatively in 5 minutes that I’ve fallen in love with it.

I think that, switching Hitler for our Prime Minister / President / King / Winnie the Pooh, we've all been here.

Following this, Jojo suddenly meets a Jewish girl in a spare room in his house, who is being hidden by Jojo’s mother (Scarlet Johannsson, turning in a career-best performance). He’s initially antagonistic, but the two begin to bond as he tries to pry information from her about what Jews are, why they are hated, and why they are circumcised. He begins to become more sympathetic, as well as beginning to absorb the horrors of war around him, and he starts questioning what he has been mindlessly following. Eventually, battle breaks out in his town, and Jojo must fight for survival.

The final part of the film is where the movie gets amazing. After his imagination and his fear in the form of Hitler tries to get him to embrace his Nazism, Jojo rejects him, quite brutally. As he and the girl walk out of the door of his house, Jojo suddenly stops. He has no idea of what is behind the door, but he is no longer blindly accepting. He steps out into light, and life, and embraces the air around him.

The central message of the film is about ideological conditioning, and the difficult path it takes to break that, but the immense benefits of doing so in gaining the ability to embrace life. The way Jojo breaks his Nazism is not a simple path; he has to witness death and destruction, risk his life, and connect with people he cannot connect with. But when he does, the world seems full of life once again. This is a serious departure from the idea of an “easy fix” for most Hollywood movies, and is such a realistic depiction of actual psychology of the indoctrinated that it’s astonishing. And its relevance to modern day issues of extremism in religion and culture make this movie an absolute treasure.

That’s not to mention Waititi’s visual storytelling in terms of cinematography and set design, changing to reflect Jojo’s mental state, using motifs of light and colour to help further convey the message. A proper film analyst would go even further, but I am not that guy. I’m just someone who follows a point from A to B and judges the branches of that path, rather than examine the nitty-gritty.

The work of cinematographer Mihai Mălaimare [Mi-lie-ma-re] Jr. is absolutely stunning.

So in terms of dealing with the global issues of indoctrination, embracement of reality, and mob mentality, Jojo Rabbit gets an A+.

In terms of filmmaking, Jojo Rabbit is outstanding in almost every aspect. The performance of Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo is incredible, with Sam Rockwell, Scarlet Johannsson and Thomasin McKenzie all providing excellent support. Add excellent production values and some really great humour in the mix along with some tight action sequences, and you have an excellent film with only a few spots of missed humour to slow it down. I give, in terms of filmmaking, a 9/10.

Please, comment and give me some more ideas. I do need ‘em.