Fascism and its downfall as seen by a 10-year old boy

Rating: 10/10 (18 February 2020)

It's hard to describe just how beautiful this movie really is. We have been beaten to death in the past 75 years with WW2 movies. WW2, and especially its cause, has been used as a metaphor for current political developments so often that people have begun to be desensitized by it. Comparing contemporary populist politicians with Fascism and Nazism has become so inordinate that it's now a running joke amongst populist and alt-right voters to a point it has become almost meaningless.
But once in a while, this message is dissected meticulously to its core by some of the most creative minds of their generation and then presented to us in a truly unique way, gracefully moving and dancing around the perpetual pitfalls of most other war movies. After 'la Vita é Bella' and 'Er ist wieder da' now comes JoJo Rabbit.
In its essence, the cause for war and ultimately the Holocaust was steady, organized polarization, desensitization and mass propaganda through education. In Germany, this started at a very young age in school and then through paramilitary indoctrination, from age 10, in the Jungvolk (10-14) and Hitlerjugend (14-18). JoJo Rabbit tells the story of a 10-year old boy, Johannes, who is already a fanatical admirer of Hitler before he starts his uniformed life as a Jungvolk member. Through his eyes, we see how he experiences the last year of the war (mid-44 to mid-45) in a way only kids can: blissfully naive, energetic and full of dreams. His imaginary best friend is Hitler himself. The world around him is harsh and unforgiving, but in his mind, it's all playful and understandable. It reminds me so much of how I experienced my life at a young age.
Many critics panned this movie for being silly, leaving out the holocaust and most true horrors of war. But they completely miss the point; this is war as experienced by a 10-year old. This is no funny satire, this is not a comedy. This is a story about love, prejudice and ultimately freedom, with some very Monty Python-esque storytelling and humor to set its tone.
Go see it.