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'JoJo Rabbit' Movie Review with Casey

Jo Jo Rabbit the movie

It's films like this that remind me why going to the movie theater is special and memorable. Based on the 2004 historical fiction novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, this film starts out zany and spirited following a 10-year-old boy named Jojo eagerly attending a training camp to join the Nazi army in 1940s Germany. Watching the world through the overzealous eyes of a child gives the film an elevated sense of comedy and innocence which then begin to transform when Jojo discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

New Zealand director, Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, 2017) continues to do an expert job in unique storytelling with his blunt, awkward, and casual style of humor. His best examples of this humor are Eagle vs Shark (2007) and What We Do in the Shadows (2014). With much of Jojo Rabbit's story centered around Hitler's army, the comedy is dark. But it's counterbalanced with the naivete of childhood which makes the story feel cheery. Thanks to the sensitively adapted screenplay (written by Taika Waititi) Jojo's innocence is shaken  into confusion, then grief, then fear as signs of the war start becoming harder to ignore. This theme of a simple childhood worldview clashing with adult realities is also beautifully explored in the Waititi-directed Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016).   

The cast of child actors, mainly Roman Griffin Davis, take viewers on such a full emotional journey with their natural honesty and hope. Everyone (young and old) will walk away learning something about acceptance, understanding, and friendship because the actors will make you feel those very things. If it has to be categorized, Jojo Rabbit is most like a coming-of-age film that is irreverent and animated but then touching and poignant. Hopefully, Jojo Rabbit will take part in the development (or real life coming-of-age) of many children who see it. It's one of the best films I've seen this year.

Casey T. Allen is a native of Utah who graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor's degree in English in 2007. He has worked in many capacities throughout USU campus and enjoys his time at UPR to continually exercise his writing.