Radically unconventional, but timely nonetheless...

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2019)

Jojo Rabbit is the funniest film the year. Bear with me, it's about a Hitler youth befriending a Jewish girl who is hiding in his house. Sounds potentially offensive given the time period and that the protagonist is a self-proclaimed Nazi but the offbeat sweetness and humor really shines through. It portrays Nazis as total buffoons throughout and it's a riot, though it also doesn't ignore the harsh realities of the innocent, naive youth during wartime, which is important but makes the film kind of a tonal jumble at points. It's an anti-hate satire that's both a straight middle finger to racism but cements allegorically that it's not going away and the best we can do is move forward dauntlessly. Taika Waititi is a comedic and symbolic wizard. Again, the offbeat nature of the film may not resonate with most, but I found a lot of amusement, emotion and food for thought out of it. It's a black comedy. It explores dark subject matter in a quirky fashion.