Brilliant; I couldn't find others words to adequately summarize it

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2020)

It takes a lot to combine all the elements in this movie, humour, satire, slapstick and tragedy. As best as I could figure, the tragedy of war, the cruelty of nazism, the kindness and love of a mother and her heroic sacrifice, as well as the innocence of a child, not to mention an Anne Frank like character thrown into the mix required a special glue to bind it all, the wacky satire was that glue. If it's not, I'll be damned if I can explain how else the movie worked because I was moved by it.
A first time eleven year old actor, Roman Griffin Davis, has the main character role, Jojo, and he has the bulk of the acting time in this movie; this is definitely proof that this kid has talent, because he is believable throughout all of it. Scarlett Johansson has far less screen time but what little of it she has, as Jojo's mom, she delivers with inspiration, including the funny bits in her early appearance confronting Captain Klensendorf, played by Sam Rockwell. Rockwell is an actor I've liked for a long time and I'm happy to say he's had a very good year with this performance and the one in "Best of Enemies"; he's also acting in "Richard Jewell and in the mini-series "Fosse/Verdon" which I'll be catching soon. Spoiler: He saves the life of Elsa and of Jojo, respectively by covering for Elsa's impersonation of Jojo's dead sister when the Gestapo conducts a search of Jojo's home, then by faking his nazi outrage toward Jojo so he would not be taken in as a supporter, just before a bomb blast kills him, one that would have killed Jojo as well. I had to mention it as Klensendorf's is pretty much of a buffoon the rest of the time and some might miss that.
This leaves one more actor, Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa, the Anne Frank like character because she is hiding in Jojo's home, behind the walls, and she's Jewish, even looks a bit like Anne Frank. She's nineteen years old, plays a sixteen year old and has the cinematic experience of a thirty year old, since her acting debut at 12, another one to watch, like Roman Griffin Davis. Davis' character plays the reluctant young cadet in Hitler's army, one who doesn't belong and who's inspired to try anyway by an imaginary and funny Adolph Hitler only Jojo can see, an artistic license the movie required, but it worked for me.
I know some will not be able to take in the tragic elements for the funny bits and for others it will be the other way around, but for those patient enough to keep an open mind, you will not be disappointed; I was not, I was, as previously mentioned, moved. Taika Waititi, the writer director deserves kudos for that.