Cinephile № 840 “Jojo Rabbit”

Recommendation: 4/5 Stars, SHOWTIME

Plot: “A young boy in Hitler’s army finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.” -IMDB

Review: Starring Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo, Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa, and Scarlett Johansson as Rosie, “Jojo Rabbit” is not what you expect when reading the plot line alone. Beginning at a Nazi youth training camp, this film makes its intentions known from the outset. With cleverly chosen musical choices, fantastically written dialogue, and Hitler as an imaginary friend, you understand very quickly that this will be a hilarious look at Nazi Germany through one of the kids it is attempting indoctrinate.

Complicating matters for Jojo is the secret his mother, Rosie is hiding in their attic. Behind a door is a young girl named Elsa and a sworn enemy of the state. Elsa is a Jew! With an imaginary Hitler whispering in his ear and his consciousness in the other, Jojo is torn. His training tells him to rat his mother out and have the girl taken away. His mother’s bravery and caring spirit say otherwise. So, Jojo gives Elsa a chance. Over a series of eye-opening conversations with hilarious outcomes, a friendship begins to grow between the two of them. While they grow closer, Nazis continue their search for Germans who are hiding Jews in their homes. The discovery of what Rosie has been doing has dire…