A review of the recent film “Jojo Rabbit”
When “Jojo Rabbit” was released at the cinema, I had no wish to see it – for me the idea of a Hitler comedy is an oxymoron. But the film received some excellent reviews and proved popular with viewers. Then I found myself in lockdown during the coronavirus crisis and, with little else new to watch, I decided to give it a go.
Although it is based on a novel, the film is very much the creation of New Zealand comedian Taika Waititi, who is part Maori and a bit Jewish, since he wrote and directed it as well as playing the role of Adolf Hitler as the imaginery friend of the eponymous 10 year old German boy (a remarkable performance by the British Roman Griffin Davis in his first professional role).
I can see what Waititi was trying to do – present a parody of Nazism and anti-semitism – but I’m afraid it just doesn’t work for me. I found it silly, sentimental, surreal – but never convincing. You might feel differently.