Jojo Rabbit - My Favourite Film of the Year
Film No.10 from Leeds International Film Festival
I think it is fair to say I am more than biased when it comes to the work of the wonderful Taika Waititi, I consider him to be my favourite director and his style is perfect for what I enjoy in cinema. Which put me a bit of a tricky position when writing this review as the film has gained a reputation for being really divisive yet I absolutely adored it. This is my personal subjective favourite film of the year, It isn't the best film of the year, that honour goes to 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' but this is the film I connected with the most. It isn't perfect and it certainly is not for everyone but I do think it is important to analyse what the film is, rather than how it doesn't reach your expectations for what you thought it would be. That is a vital part of understanding Waitit's work, he doesn't strive to make a film that will storm the Awards Season or a film that will appease both film buffs and general audiences. He makes films that you can tell he has a passion3 for making and nothing is more admirable than that and I think that is why I connect to him so much as a filmmaker. If you didn't enjoy the film, that is completely fair and you are entitled to your opinion, I am going to explain why I connected and loved it so much personally.
A comedy about the Hitler Youth is bound to stir controversy before it is even released. Waititi was fighting an uphill battle when he chose to adapt 'Caging Skies' and I feel the film was a bit mis-marketed with what it was. The words 'Satire' was bounced around excessively when the film was announced and I think that put people's expectations out of proportion. This isn't what I would call a 'Satire', it is a satirical story but it isn't an outright satire. It uses the controversial setting as a comedic backdrop to the film's story, in such an absurdist way that it isn't exactly Jonathon Swift's 'Jojo Rabbit'. The portrayal of Nazi Germany is with this fascinating almost arrogance, Waititi doesn't honour these people instead of relying on turning them into complete idiots with no sense of sympathy. It is a new take on portraying Nazi Germany and I don't think it is any less valid, Waititi doesn't write a large scale deconstruction of their beliefs, instead, he writes a much more personal story about compassion, understanding and overcoming fanaticism. Possibly my favourite thing about the film is it's much more human and universal message using the heights of Nazi Germany to orchestrate a point that is more relevant today.
I do however understand the comedy is occasionally inconsistent, Waititi uses the overhead running joke of 'The Nazi's are dumb' in the same way he uses the idea of 'Vampires are dumb' in 'What We Do In The Shadows' but with a tad less variety here. However, the cast manages to have a range of fantastic comedic talents that make the film worth it, the highlight being every single line uttered by Sam Rockwell being hilarious. The comedy is so embedded in this world that the film relies a lot on jarring tonal shifts that have been a point of major criticism. As a massive fan of his work, this is something Waititi does repeatedly and is almost his signature style. For me, life isn't as cosy and simple as having "sad moments" and "happy moments" that are completely separate. Waititi always writes with characters in mind first, usually, a child exploring the world around him, this means his writing style is irresistibly authentic for the protagonist. Jojo is a fascinating character, he feels like such a realistic 10-year-old and the way he interprets the world around him is one of the biggest strengths of the film. At times Waititi pulls the rug out from under the audience with an emotional scene and sometimes follows it with a comedic moment, yet it always feels realistic to me and I think the emotional scenes are dealt with the realistic care that isn't emotionally manipulative.
Waititi's writing process is why I have the utmost respect for him as a director, he has this unique style in writing that never feels flashy or forced. Throughout the film he focuses on establishing the characters and the world first and foremost and letting them breathe, finding comedy and tragedy where it fits best for this world. This is consistent throughout his work, he never forces a character to give exposition when it doesn't make sense for their character, he never manipulates a character for comedy instead it makes sense for this world. Granted some characters are less dimensional then others, Rebel Wilson and Stephen Merchant's character's are complete caricatures and Waititi doesn't shy away from this as they aren't the focal points of the film. His absolute focal points are Jojo, Rosie and Elsa, they are the characters that compose the film's main message and theme. The relationship between these three characters is my absolute favourite thing about the film and he treats them with such subtlety and care.
Of course, having fantastic writing is useless if the performances can't carry it and in 'Jojo Rabbit' the performances are nothing short of outstanding. First and foremost is the incredible Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo who is one of the most incredible child performances I have ever seen in my life. Davis has to do a lot in the film, Waititi doesn't shy away from making him perform a broad range of complex emotions, he doesn't dumb down the performance as Davis can handle it wonderfully. An absolutely surprise performance is from Scarlett Johannson, an actor I struggle to connect with usually creates an incredibly charming and wonderfully hypnotic performance as Jojo's mother. She has drenched this signature Waititi 'smiling through tragedy' personality and on multiple watches, her character becomes more and more sympathetic. My favourite performance in the film is Thomasin Mckenzie as Elsa who is Oscar-Worthy in developing her complex and fascinating character. I won't say much about her for spoiler reasons but she is such a fascinatingly sad character who's expressions speak so much louder than her words, Waititi occasionally fixates on her face putting a lot of pressure on her performance which shines through.
Consistent with all his work, the cinematography is incredible without feeling flashy or like it is trying too hard. Mihai Malaimare Jr. does an excellent job at composing the visual design to complement Waitit's style. He frames some scenes with this beautiful attention to detail, creating this sense of emotion purely through the shot's ambition. yet he also knows how to use the cinematography for excellent comedic moments, utilising framing, snap-zooms and pans for some of my favourite jokes. The visual design is like a toned-down Wes Anderson film and I mean that as a positive, it isn't at the focal point of the film and Waititi doesn't strive to distract from the film's focus. There are still several striking shots that stay in my head, shots that remind me of character interactions and moments of emotion, yet also several shots that just make me chuckle from memory. I have become a bit desensitised to flashy cinematography that seems to be trying too hard and just throwing everything at the wall as an excuse for style, so it is refreshing to have a film that uses its visual dictionary to evoke specific reactions and with a clear purpose.
I am going to spoil the films' ending in this paragraph as I could not write about this film without talking about it, skip ahead to my conclusion if you are avoiding spoilers. The third act of this film is one of the most overwhelming, in every meaning of the word, sequences I have seen all year. Waititi does a very fascinating thing with this ending, he deals with the inevitability that all the events of the film had to happen. Jojo and Elsa had to bond, the war had to come to an end and Jojo has to free Elsa. These are elements that become clear from about halfway through and Waititi doesn't unnecessarily subvert your expectations, instead using them to punctuate his ending. The entire battle scene is disorientating, combining genuine hilarious visual imagery with some equally haunting imagery sometimes within seconds of each other. We see this through a more mature and understanding perspective of Jojo, he is horrified and confused by what he sees and feels misplaced and lost in the conflict. This climaxes at the surprisingly emotional sacrifice of Captain K which begins Jojo's final close to his arc, confront his compassion for Elsa. We see this confrontation through the ridiculous conversation between him and Hitler, resulting in Jojo getting rid of his fanatic perspective of Hitler. Jojo is still a 10-year-old, he feels lonely and confused and this compassion is new and scary for him, he lashes out in fear rather than Waititi falling into a predictable cosy arc, Jojo reacts like a 10-year-old would. And how do these two confused, scared and overwhelmed characters interpret their newfound compassion? Through dancing obviously, in one of my favourite scenes of the year the two dance to Bowie's 'Heroes' and I sufficiently cried throughout.
'Jojo Rabbit' almost feels like a film designed with everything I love about cinema. It is equal parts hilarious as it is emotional and throughout Waititi reminds us that love and compassion is so important. Any problems I have with it are far too minor and nit-picky that they don't affect my viewing experience at all. It is far too easy to be cynical about films and hold them at a higher standard than they deserve to be. Like I said, it is not the best film of the year, but it is my favourite and I think it is important to differentiate the two. The subjective experience is much more vital, personal and important than the extent to which something is art. I appreciate 'Jojo Rabbit' for everything it is and everything it accomplished, it is exactly the kind of message in cinema that I needed and it connected to me on a really emotional personal level. It's also really really funny.
Thanks for reading!