Jojo Rabbit is Taika Waititi’s newest film and it has a total of six Oscar nominations. These are the Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, and Best Supporting Actress for Scarlett Johansson.
The movie is a satire set in 1940s Germany, in the midst of Hitler’s reign and World War II. The audience follows a young boy named Johannes “Jojo Rabbit” Betzler, a Hitler Youth member who finds out his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. He then starts to question his beliefs, while dealing with the intervention of his imaginary friend, a fanciful version of Adolf Hitler. The screenplay is an adaptation of the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens.
The plot of this movie sounds controversial at first glance, given that many could interpret it as sending the wrong message about WWII. I do understand that some people might not like the movie’s tone or some jokes might be taken the wrong way, I think that the movie was clear with the message that it wanted to bring. Taika Waititi expressed why he wanted to make the movie and that his main message was that no one is born with hatred, if not it is learned, and you are able to educate yourself and break free from harmful practices that are instilled to you.
The script is a perfect balance of humor and serious moments because despite it being a satire, it discusses the severity of the times with the respect that it deserves. Taika’s directing style is as unique and charming as always and it’s a shame that he wasn’t recognized for that or his performance as imaginary Hitler, which was undoubtedly the funniest aspect of the movie. The standouts are definitely Roman Davis Griffith and Thomasin McKenzie, who play Jojo and Elsa.
They demonstrate amazing talent despite their young age and hopefully, they will be able to have a long and bright career. Both of them have been recognized in numerous award shows, with Roman even winning in the Best Young Actor Category at the Critic’s Choice Awards. Scarlett Johansson also did a good job. She really tied some shoelaces in this movie which could justify her other nomination for Marriage Story, in which she also tied loose ends. It was a big year for shoe-tying skills.
While it’s an excellently made movie that’s clear with its message and not afraid of it, I don’t think it will win anything come February 9th, event though it won the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. I don’t think that the Academy will award such a daring film that unapologetically stands against hate and criticizes society in such a way. It only stands a chance in the Adapted Screenplay category, but we shall see because there are a lot of strong contenders within that one.
Feel free to check out Jojo Rabbit and form your own opinion about it, and check out the trailer below!