Reality was surreal. They just turned the "sur" up a notch.

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2020)

Taika Waititi is a very good actor. Yes, of course, he's a brilliant director of possibly the most creative film of the year. And yes, young Roman Griffin Davis did a remarkable job portraying Jojo's journey and all the emotions he goes through. And Scarlett Johansson was marvelous as his mother trying to balance protecting her last surviving child and doing "what she can", like hiding a Jewish girl. And Sam Rockwell's Nazi commander drowning his shame in alchohol came across as heartbreakingly human. But if Waititi didn't hit just the right notes as the imaginary Hitler, the entire movie might not have worked. He might have been goofy, hilariously blunt, yet often supportive and encouraging, but he never stopped being Hitler. What this film reflects is the time that seemed surreal. All it really did is turn the "sur" up a notch. More often than not whatever is funny is also very scary. And tragedy is acutely real. It stays with you.