Ever wonder what Hitler looks like through a child's imagination? Me neither, but we're about to find out anyway! This was the first comedy nominee that we encountered on our journey to get to the Oscars. Let's just say it left me feeling some type of way. Jojo Rabbit, based on the book Chasing Skies, is about how a young German boy, Jojo played by Roman Griffin Davies, finds out his mother, played by Scarlett Johansson, is hiding a Jewish girl in their house. This really challenges Jojo's way of thinking since he's apart of the Hitler Youth and subsequently has an imaginary friend in Adolf Hitler himself. *record scratch* Yeah, you read all that right. I have many mixed feelings about this movie. I think it mostly has to do with the direction of trying to make this into a satire about the anti-hate of Germans and Jews during World War II. This is why saying that Taika playing Hitler from a child's point of view was the most refreshing part of this movie makes this review a little bit confusing. I think it was the fact that Taika himself was everything that Hitler stood against as an Indigenous man, but that alone can't save the movie. Truly, it's a reminder of what was that makes it feel like the satire missed its mark. Having a boy who was so dedicated to the German cause than he had Hitler as his imaginary friend feels incredibly... uncomfortable to say the least. Knowing that Jojo's version of Hitler is nowhere close to what we historically know and rides on the stereotypes of what Germans know about Jews to fuel his views leaves a weird feeling in my stomach. Not to mention that Jojo's journey to finally accepting the Jewish girl stowaway involves his mother dying. (Unnecessarily, might I add.) This brings a question to mind - can you make anything into satire? I think the answer is yes, but only if you're being realistic about why it's a satire. There seemed to be an awkward avoidance of discussing the actual horrors of Nazi Germany and instead of slapping some Wes Anderson-like filter on everything with a little child-like humor thrown in for some satire 'flavor.' It left this movie feeling a tad bit lost and leaving its true message out there in the void where no one can actually hear it. If you would like to purchase Chasing Skies by Christine Leunens, you can purchase it here or at your local bookstore.
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