JoJo Rabbit – Review

JoJo Rabbit

JoJo Rabbit review; Taika Waititi filmJoJo Rabbit

Directed by: Taika Waititi

Runtime: 108 minutes

Sometimes my job here is incredibly difficult. Sure, most of the time I am just shouting my self-righteous opinions into the void of the internet, hoping someone considers me an ‘authority figure’ on media (mostly in a bid to justify the years I have spent obsessing over the moving image when I could have been learning a useful skill such as learning an instrument, another language… or learning how to run without making my chest burn). JoJo Rabbit, however, is a film that makes what I do difficult. JoJo Rabbit is a film that makes me hate reviewing as a concept. JoJo Rabbit is a film that makes me want to tear down all trailers and delete IMDB off of the internet. JoJo Rabbit should not have a rotten tomatoes score, and even though I will be putting a fresh rating next to my name (I still need those views), I do not think an indicator of a little red fruit and an arbitrary 79% truly encapsulates what this film offers to you, the humble viewer.

JoJo Rabbit is a film that needs to be experienced, not analysed.

This is where I usually will give a vague plot summary (mostly ripped and reworded from Wikipedia) of the film I review. With JoJo Rabbit, I refuse to do that. The first line of its Wikipedia page is “Jojo Rabbit is a 2019 American satirical black comedy film…” and I wholeheartedly disagree with at least two thirds of the terminology here. JoJo Rabbit is without genre. It is a film that encapsulates what it feels like to laugh at the funeral of a loved one. It’s a film akin to a person who has lost everything, watching a house fire burn with ferocity and destroying their most prized possessions, who comments that they “always hated that roof, anyway.” JoJo Rabbit is a comedy and a tragedy in the same way life is. Even in the darkest times of our history, someone probably did something random and ridiculous that made someone chuckle, and really, isn’t that what keeps life worth living?

You will see a lot of reviews questioning the morality of joking about Hitler. I don’t want to get into that, because this film isn’t merely a ‘comedy.’ Are there jokes about the Nazis? Yes. Did I laugh through this film? Definitely. I also cried, profusely. I also smiled, warmly. JoJo Rabbit made me feel a variety of emotions. After viewing, I was exhausted. It felt good.

When I was but a young film nerd, I had an afternoon free with my mother. Seemingly out of nowhere, my mum told me that we were going to watch Schindler’s List, because, in her words, “You need to see it at least once.” For the entire afternoon, I sat in solemn reverence, watching the events unfold and trying to fully comprehend one of the darkest periods of human history. I didn’t crack a smile. I didn’t even cry. I just watched. I am glad my mother made me watch that film, as it helped me to understand a complex issue in an empathetic fashion. JoJo Rabbit is for people who have watched Schindler’s List and are in need of catharsis. JoJo Rabbit replaces the black-and-white sincerity of Spielberg’s masterpiece with audacious technicolour. JoJo Rabbit does not make you feel better about the holocaust, but it sure as hell makes you feel better about mankind.

All I will say about JoJo Rabbit is that you should see it.

Why?

Because it’s good.

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