Superb: wonderfully funny, emotional and profound

Rating: 9/10 (31 December 2019)

World War 2. Jojo is a 10-year-old German boy and a zealous follower of Hitler. He even has an imaginary friend, Adolf, who resembles Hitler and who motivates him and guides his actions. Then one day he finds a Jewish girl hiding in his house.
Superb. Written and directed by Taika Waititi, who wrote and directed the excellent 'What We Do In the Shadows' plus 'Hunt For The Wilderpeople' and 'Boy' and directed 'Thor: Ragnarok'. While Waititi is more renowned as a comedic director (though many of his films have dramatic elements to them), Jojo Rabbit is a great balance between comedy and drama.
Initially this combination of comedy and drama is a bit jarring, as you'll have some great comedy moments mixed in with some deadly serious, even tragic, dramatic moments. One moment you'll have an hilarious scene where the Nazis are being made fun of, the next you see the tragic effects of their regime. This two-tone approach initially makes the movie quite unsettling.
However, from a point the comedy-drama divide follows a rhythm and things settle down. As the movie goes on the tone becomes more consistently serious, leading to a powerful, profound, emotional conclusion.
Solid performances by Ronan Griffin Davis as Jojo, Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa and Scarlett Johansson as Jojo's mother. Waititi himself takes on the Hitler role and does a great job. Outstanding performance of the movie goes to Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf, the jaded, alcoholic German Army officer. Absolutely hilarious.
Good supporting cast that includes Alfie Allen, Rebel Wilson and Stephen Merchant.