Hollywood produces commercial films and independent films as well. And while commercial films can be fun, fluffy and thrilling to watch, independent films have more of a tendency to be crafted better with better directing, writing and even acting. "Jojo Rabbit" is an independent film which takes a premise which could be totally factual, but in a quirky way shows us how eclectic and bizarre this story can be and is.
This is a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism. After joining a Nazi young boys training group headed up by Captain Klenzendorff (Sam Rockwell), and assistants, Finkel (Alfie Allen) and Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson), Jojo is then ridiculed by the group and subsequently decides to stop going due to an explosion. Soon afterwards, he then realizes about the young girl and now he must decide what to do about his fervent stance with Nazism after getting to know Elsa. What is a 10-year-old boy to do?
Others to round out the cast are Stephen Merchant as Deertz, Archie Yates as Yorki, a friend of Jojo's, Luke Brandon Field as Christoph and Sam Haygarth as Hans.
This was quirkily and eclectically directed by Taika Waititi ("Eagle vs. Shark" '07, "Boy" '10, "What We Do in the Shadows" '14, "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" '15, "Thor: Ragnarok" '17) plus TV, shorts and video shorts. Certainly, Waititi stays in his comfort zone, but what an amazing comfort zone it is. His characters are usually over-the-top as they play out, but considering many of his films are conducive to including these types of characters, then it should no surprise. If this quirky directing style is something you can sink your teeth into, his "Next Goal Wins" is being filmed and "Thor: Love and Thunder" has been announced. It was also oddly written by Waititi (above list excluding "Thor: Ragnarok" '17) plus TV and shorts, based on the book "Caging Skies" by Christine Leunens. Again, the writing is about as quirky and bizarre as the directing. It was concise, cohesive and well thought out, and other than a couple of small areas of slowness, this storyline soared. I don't know where Roman Griffin Davis came from, because I've never heard of him, but he was a very convincing Jojo, and Waititi as Hitler was simply a hoot--he practically stole the show. The writing and directing definitely had the feel of a Wes Anderson film replete with quirky characters, dry humor and a bizarre storyline, but this was almost a homage to that filmmaker. I mentioned it in past reviews and I'll mention it again, the originality of this premise was certainly refreshing in a world of a plethora of remakes, reboots, sequels, prequels, franchises and continuations.
If you like the films of Anderson or maybe Paul Thomas Anderson, you will like this. But more to the point, Waititi is a clever and talented writer and director that always gives his audiences something different and eclectic. I will be interested in seeing his next project "Next Goal Wins" if it's anything of the caliber of this film.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 108mins.
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