Hysterical, ridiculous, heart-warming

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2020)

Jojo Rabbit is an immaculately funny, engaging and heart-felt movie that is able to transcribe love amid its glorifying theme of Nazi Germany in World War II. Written and directed by Taiki Waititi, he did a fantastic job in telling this story in a humorous and twisty way.
The movie follows the perspective of a 10-year-old boy in Hitler's youth, Johannes, who considers Hitler as his imaginary best friend. At Nazi camp, he is joyously exposed to dangerous German weapons. This later results in a grenade accident that made him stay back home with his mother, Rosie. Here, he discovers she is hiding a Jewish girl, whose name is Elsa, in their house. As a Hitler fanatic, he is urged to tell on her. However, afraid to jeopardize his mother's safety, he has to negotiate with her instead. Forced to spend time with Elsa, Jojo gets to know her a little bit. At first, Elsa hates Jojo and makes up facts about Jewish people. Naive 10-year-old Jojo believes all of this and proceeds to write a book about stereotypical Jewish traits viewed by the Nazis - hideous, scaly, horny and have evil superpowers to control people's mind.
One of the funniest bits of the film is when a group of Gustapos visits Jojo at his house, they all say "Heil Hitler" to Jojo, and he says "Heil Hitler" back. This gets even better when Captain K. visits the house later, then they all have to salute again. I also like how everyone in the movie, especially children, acts as "over-the-top" Nazis proud to kill Jews or die for Hitler. By this, the film is able to satirize and capitalize on its depiction of the ridiculousness and ignorance of people living under Nazi rule in the 1940s.
However, it also shows the side of more understanding and resistance under the system. Jojo's mother, Rosie, is an anti-Nazi herself; and Captain K., is sympathetic towards Jewish people. Ultimately, the movie speaks to one thing, that German people during this time period weren't evil sadists, they were simply so used to and brainwashed by all the Hitler propagandas. This movie effectively tells this through the perspective of children. Through Jojo's conversations with his friend Yorkie, he learns that Yorkie doesn't actually care about killing Jewish at all and was surprised that Jews are normal people who don't have horns and scales like textbooks say. This is perfectly expressed in Elsa's quote after Jojo tells her that he is a Nazi: "You're not a Nazi, Jojo. You're a ten-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a funny uniform and wants to be part of a club". This theme is fulfillingly wrapped up at the end, when Jojo eventually changes his beliefs about Jewish people and kicks Adolf out of his mind.
The illustration of love and relationships in the movie is also heart-warming and memorable. Jojo's arc mainly ties around two characters: Rosie and Elsa. We can see how close Rosie is to Jojo by her tying his shoes, going on bike rides, joking with him and imitating his father. Through the movie, Jojo gets closer and understands more about Elsa, so after feeling "butterflies inside his stomach", he has learned to sympathize and care for her. And in the time Jojo spends with his mother or Elsa, he finds love and forgets about his friend, Adolf.
A use of symbolism that I love about the film is the rabbit. In the beginning of the movie, at Nazi camp, Jojo fails to kill a rabbit when he is asked to do so. He is humiliated and then mocked as 'Jojo Rabbit' by other campers for being a weaky. After consulting with his friend Adolf, he changes his mind and proudly adopts the image of "a rabbit" himself. As Imaginary Adolf says, a rabbit is quick and lean for survival and can hide when needed. This rabbit turns out to be Elsa at the end. She has been in hiding in so many houses and lives more than she would have under Nazi rule, but she still survives when the war ends. Jojo learns that the Allies win, but he is afraid to tell Elsa because after his mother, he would lose her too. But when he flips the page of the sketch book and imagines the image of a magician opening the cage to let out the rabbit, he knows that he has to set Elsa free. Like they say, "If you love something, you have to let it go".
All of the actors did solid works for this film. Roman Davis Griffin did a fine job playing a young boy who is growing up confused and shaken by the challenges to his beliefs. Scarlett Johansson's performance goes on the spotlight, because she is exceptionally enchanting and loving as Jojo's mother but also a complicated character as an anti-nazi hiding a Jewish girl in Germany. Taiki Waititi as Imaginary Adolf is amazing, since he is absolutely childish and comical, that adds so much fun to the film by expressing the inner voice / state of mind of a ten-year-old. The only thing I wish more from the characters is for Thomasin MacKensie's Elsa to show more of her dynamics, as a Jewish in hiding for most of her adolescence, other than her love interest.
Jojo Rabbit gets a solid 9/10 on my scale. Without a doubt, it is one of the best films of 2019. As a family movie, it shines on its own with hysterical and over-the-top comedy, and beautiful, heart-warming moments. It is an impeccable treat to watch and think about.