Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi has made his best film and his style is very close to Tarantino's. A very original war satire with a strong story, tasteful humour, engaging dialogue, great performances (Scarlett Johansson deserves an Oscar, but I also like Sam Rockwell, Taika Waititi as Hitler and the small and clever Roman Griffin Davis). The biggest highlights are the training of the young Nazis, the visit to the Gestapo and the finale. The film manages to surprise several times, keeps a decent pace and the humour is occasionally replaced by a cold shower. 8/10. (2020-01-05)

I appreciate some of the scenes filled with funny gags (all with Sam Rockwell and Stephen Merchant), but the story as a whole left me cold. Taika Waititi has style and a lot of humour, but on a dramatic level, he hasn’t convinced me so far. On the other hand, to write a role for Rebel Wilson in a way that her unbearableness benefits the story and adds humour to the movie requires some mastery. One final note: although I can listen to "Heroes" by David Bowie anytime and anywhere, using this song for key scenes of any film after the relatively recent movies The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Horns seems totally cliché to me. (2020-05-24)

I was looking forward to Jojo Rabbit for a long time, especially since it’s made by a director whose every film in recent years I totally loved and I only wish him happiness. Moreover, he chose the Czech Republic as the filming location, and the resulting film was nominated with an Academy Award for the best feature film. I understand that the competition is tough so Jojo Rabbit will probably not win, but it’s still a nice promotion for our little country. A war satire is a very visible topic, and when it’s well-made it’s hard to forget. And Taika Waititi did a great job, even though I expected a bit more humor. In places I didn’t know whether it was satire or fantasies of the main character Jojo, perfectly portrayed by Roman Griffin Davis. Taika Waititi is very good in guiding actors in general. And him guiding himself as Hitler is the funniest part of the whole film. In the second half, however, you’ll meet with more serious scenes, which show that even though Jojo perceives the fascists the way he does, it is still war and it’s not exactly fun. A well-done satire, but it’d be even better with more humor. It still has one unique feature, though – the most likable Nazi everplayed by Sam Rockwell. I haven’t seen such a well-written character in a while. (2020-01-30)

So much of a different movie than I'm used to seeing in the cinema that it made my head spin a little. However, that uniqueness is at the same time so likable that I forgive the over-the-top humor in the scenes where it wasn't particularly necessary. Just a moment later, a nearly brilliantly timed gag might come, or Taika Waititi might unexpectedly deliver a punch below the belt, for which a viewer in the right emotional state will still thank him. (2020-02-06)

I admire Waititi and I really wanted to like JoJo Rabbit, and although I’m sincerely happy that it brought him an Oscar for the screenplay, I can’t avoid being disappointed. The film does have strong and excellent moments (the introduction of the characters, the Gestapo inspection and the entire relationship between Johansen and Elsa) and shines with a distinctive “happysad” signature and the wonderfully directed actors, who couldn’t be any more natural, in particular the child protagonists. Unfortunately, there are many scenes and filmmaking decisions that have a degrading effect – I love Waititi’s comedy, but his line with the imaginary Hitler is quite pointless and unoriginal; but this is the smaller problem. For me, the main shortcoming is the imbalance between the communication and the staging; for instance, the funniest part is suddenly cut off by a scene like out of Schindler’s List, which doesn’t fit in a film where the Nazis are funny caricatures. Likewise with the ending, where scenes of death and war are weirdly combined with parodic snippets – and better not talk about how some of the twists are left unresolved (they let two kids live alone in a big house and nobody cares about them?). I get that this is supposed to be the perspective of a little boy and I really enjoyed his development and varied opinions, but that perspective is not coherent and the secondary characters lack the appropriate educational value (with the exception of the mother, who’s dealt with in a pretty arguable way). All that notwithstanding, this is far from a bad film and Taika manages to transmit his simple ideas in an original and funny way. It’s a shame that they didn’t go for a more uncompromising framework and instead resorted to dodgy and kitschy motives that not even Hollywood studio conventions of can justify. 70% (2022-01-30)