Love in the time of holocaust

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2020)

Taika Waititi really is an odball. Some people hate him, some people love him, most don't even know what to think of him. For me, he's a director I always kept an eye on. His basic, silly humor was exactly my kind of thing, the canvas he painted it on... not so much. So when I heard he was working on a film revolving around the third Reich, it sounded like a great opportunity to finally put all that witful but weird humor to good use.
And it certainly was. 'Jojo Rabbit' is full of incredibly satisfying dark goofy moments. A satire they called it. Can't say it is. Taika tackles the nazi regime and the holocaust too lightly and the criticism isn't poignant enough to tag it as such. 'He falls short', said the critics, 'he is not bold enough'. Probably right. But the result of Taika's tameness is a wonderful comedy drama enjoyable by parents and children alike. Because a comedy it is and a comedy it remains, for the most part. But when the plot develops and the drama strikes, 'Jojo Rabbit' turns into the most heart-warming and at the same time heart-wrenching film of recent years.
Content aside little is there to say about Taika's last work, and all of it good. The directing is magisterial, with a perfect pace and visuals that make it hard to remember you're not watching one of Wes Anderson's masterpieces. And the cast shines so much on the screen as it did as a list of names on the title's credits. One after another, they all bring all their best into the table, regardless the importance of the role. That makes even more unbelievable the fact that a twelve year old newcomer could come and take advantage of playing the leading role to outshine a whole cast of acting titans. Roman Griffin Davis interacts with virtually every other character on the show, and his chemistry with every one of them is truly mesmerizing.
In a generally weak year for cinema there's no doubt that alongside Bong Joon Ho's 'Parasite' and Todd Phillips' 'Joker', 'Jojo Rabbit' is one of 2019's crown jewels. But while the sooner stands out for its beautiful cinematography and its almost flawless original script and the latter relies too much on Joaquin Phoenix's stellar performance, Taika's odd dark nazi comedy might be the most solid overall of the three.