Historical Drama : "Jojo Rabbit"

Jojo Rabbit has received six Oscar nominations. It begins as a mischievous comedy poking fun at Nazi fanaticism, and gradually becomes a dramatic reminder of the dire consequences of hostilities. The picture captivates with its staging, choice of actors and a child's view of the world.

The events of the film take place during the Second World War. The ten-year-old boy Jojo, under the influence of propaganda, is fond of the ideology of Nazi Germany. He is full of enthusiasm and desire to become a real Nazi, but sometimes he lacks the courage to demonstrate this. In moments of doubt, he communicates with an imaginary friend - Adolf Hitler, who gives the hero dubious instructions. In order to prove his loyalty to the Fuhrer, Jojo, with his inherent naivete, dreams of one day finding and handing over a Jew to the authorities. The boy does not yet realize that soon he will really meet a Jewish girl, and he certainly cannot predict how he will behave.

Jojo the Rabbit came out at a good time when cinema is free to ridicule any topic, especially Nazi beliefs. True, it took several years to fully implement this idea. It all started in 2011, when director Taika Waititi took inspiration from Christina Lunens's Caged Heaven and wrote a script about a boy growing up in a war.

In the original, the story was rather dark, so Waititi rewrote it, adding his characteristic playful note. Taika came up with an imaginary Hitler, who is the main character, and the child mentally endows him with silly-unrealistic qualities. When the script was ready, the director was not supported by any film company, all unanimously refused to film the film with the Fuhrer.

Over the next years, Taika Waititi worked on the films What We Do in the Shadows and Thor: Ragnarok, which clearly demonstrate his sense of humor. After the successful films, representatives of Fox Searchlight Pictures turned to the director - they were suddenly inspired by the idea of ​​filming "Jojo Rabbit" on the condition that Waititi himself reincarnated as Hitler. The proposal was accepted, and this is how an unexpectedly touching picture appeared, in which comedy coexists with a military drama.

The manner of shooting, the richness of colors and the staging of some scenes in "Jojo Bunny" will certainly remind the films of Wes Anderson, which have their own harmless reality. In the new painting, Taika Waititi uses similar techniques, which emphasize that the story is portrayed through the eyes of a child. Because of this, everything around is only half serious and partly funny.

This is clearly confirmed by Waititi himself, who playfully fooling around in the frame, thereby making fun of the dictator, who did not allow himself to display frivolous behavior. But before us is only an imaginary leader, therefore anything can happen to him, even a relaxed flight from the window.

All followers of the Nazi ideology fall under the satire in the film, so the actions of some of the characters are brought to the point of absurdity. The nonsense propagated to the younger generation is represented differently by the heroes of Rebel Wilson and Sam Rockwell, so that the share of these actors falls the most of the jokes.

The casual presentation and daring comedy can give the impression that Jojo Bunny is just an undignified comedy that will juggle funny moments until the end of the film. This is not true. As the plot develops, military actions remind of themselves, and the main character gradually changes his worldview, so youthful carelessness does not seem eternal.

Although the main character is used to communicating with an imaginary friend, his mother is his real mentor. She is played by Scarlett Johansson, who charmingly fits into the 1940s and portrays her character perfectly wonderfully. All the scenes in which the actress appears are filled with love of life, maternal care and a sense of superiority over the established regime. Even if Johansson doesn't win an Oscar, the Best Supporting Actor nomination is already celebrating her inspiring work in the film.

Also, Jojo Bunny can win Academy Awards for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Artist, Best Costume Design and Best Editing. The latter is unlikely to win, since some scenes fall out of the general tempo slightly, quickly switch between themselves, and sometimes do not always work in the desired dramatic or comedic tone.

The film is indeed not as perky as it might seem from the trailer, but in the end it doesn't make it unlucky. In many moments, music helps a lot - this is the soundtrack by Michael Giacchino (wrote compositions for Marvel films and Coco cartoon). German versions of the songs "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles and "Heroes" by David Bowie also add to the mood.

As strange as it sounds, Jojo Rabbit with an imaginary dictator is a cute movie about growing up and being disappointed in what seemed right. The film does not show the real horror of Nazism, but with the help of satire with childlike spontaneity, it goes through ideology, raising it to the level of meaninglessness.

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