Jojo Rabbit – 4/5 stars

Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a young boy growing up in Nazi Germany who wants nothing more than to join Hitler’s army. He even has Hitler (Taika Waititi) as his imaginary friend. But when he discovers that his single mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), is hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic, Jojo’s beliefs about the Jewish and his blinded patriotism are put into question.

I remember hearing about Jojo Rabbit when it first came out and thought it was such an interesting idea to explore. We learn about the horrors of the Holocaust, but what would it have been like for a young boy growing up within Nazi Germany? I thought this was fascinating because it’s a perspective I’ve not seen explored before and Jojo Rabbit did a great job with it.

The movie started off as a dark comedy and then progressed to an emotional tone, as the horrors of WWII and Nazism were explored. I thought Taika did a great job, both with directing and playing the controversial role of Hitler, Jojo’s imaginary friend. Scarlett’s performance also stood out as the compassionate, slightly goofy mother who showed that even in a place full of hate, there are still good people.

It was interesting seeing this after watching Schindler’s List not long ago, and seeing how the same event varied from different perspectives. Schindler’s List focused more on portraying concentration camps and the horrors that occurred during the Holocaust, while Jojo Rabbit focused more on portraying what it would have been like for a youth to grow up in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Jojo Rabbit showed the beliefs and misconceptions German people had about Jewish people, and how they weren’t bad people, this was just what they were taught to believe.

Overall, I’d rate Jojo Rabbit 4/5 stars and would recommend checking it out if it sounds interesting to you. I think it is a film that has flown under the radar, but I remember hearing some good things when it came out and am glad I gave it a watch. I thought it had a compelling story and gave a unique perspective to a well-explored topic, and for that reason alone, it was worth checking out. Jojo Rabbit is currently available to stream on HBO Max.