one of year's best

Rating: 9/10 (22 February 2020)

It's WWII and Germany is losing the war. 10 year old Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) can't tie his own shoes and has an imaginary friend in Hitler (Taika Waititi). He is starting Hitler youth training under weary war veteran Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell). He refuses to kill a rabbit and the guys ridicule him as Jojo Rabbit. One day, he finds a girl living in the wall of his late sister's room. His mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding Jewish girl Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie).
This is an inventive film. It is feel-good and heart-breaking. It has comedy and tragedy. It is an outside-the-box, brilliant film from the unusual Taika Waititi. The kid is brilliant. The best friend is funny. ScarJo is terrific. There are some big-time emotional gut punches. There are surprising turns. This is one of the year's best.