JoJo Rabbit - Tragedy as a Parody
Suhansid Srikanth
Having seen the other eight nominess for Best Picture this year, I was keen to watch JoJo Rabbit. One, to know whether it will shackle my belief about my pick among the list. Two, the obvious reason to know how this flippantly comical period piece managed to find a place among all the serious dramas that lit the lists this year. Written and Directed by Taika Waititi, based on Christine Leunens's book Caging Skies.. JoJo Rabbit accounts the tale of ten year old JoJo who is passionate about serving Hitler finding himself in a situation where he has to deal with a hiding Jew girl in his own house.
JoJo Rabbit's beauty is in its effortless blend of surrealism with real time tragedy. The imaginary character of Hitler that JoJo keeps talking to is a brilliant addition. It implies the Nazi mentality that Hitler kept seeding and also acts as a superb tool of conscience for JoJo to self introspect, question and reevaluate himself. The character gets a funnier knock-off of what Tarantino did with 'Inglorious Basterds'.
The problem with the film is.. at times, it shrinks itself almost like caricatured Disney version of a war. The trauma doesn't consistently stays with you. There are moments where you connect with the characters. Like the one moment where Rosie talks to Elsa about what and how women meant to be. It truly lingers in the left-out state they are. But, other than such few scenes, the film largely gives out the theatrical setup it portrays. It pops out like a stage play.. a parody of a tragedy.
Towards the end, when the Americans capture Germany with Hitler committing suicide, the tonal shift happens. The devastating war occurs rigjt in front of JoJo's eyes. It leaves him in a phase where he asks himself whether is it all worth it. And it is when his best friend too tells him that this might be the bad time to be a Nazi. Suddenly, he realizes there are worser problems to mind in the world than killing Jews. The stretch works fabulously with the way it is shot. And, Roman Griffin Davis's performance as Little JoJo is captivating. The naivety, enthusiasm and the child-like command he displays is delightfully brought out.
Not to forget Scarlett Johannsson's impressive acting as JoJo's mother. With the terrific performance in Marriage Story at one hand, what Scarlett pulled off in JoJo can be a walk on the cake for her. Mihai Malaimare Jr's cinematography is all sort of aesthetics. Except for the destructive war sequences towards the end, it beautifies the Germany then. The picturesque faces, with many frame-within-a-frame moments creates a beautiful ambience.
Despite failing to drop the impact the rest of the eight films dropped over me as I left the screens, JoJo Rabbit does made me to mull over about how narrating tales on and about the war is much needed now more than ever. With something like 1917 presenting the tremors of war as raw and rugged, blood and real.. it is also an interesting point to look at something like JoJo Rabbit that sweetens the message and still put it out to the world.. to the kids.. and may be, to the adults as well.
Bottomline: Taika Waititi's comedy war drama, 'JoJo Rabbit' is a blend of drama, comedy and magical realism. The tale of belief, revaluating the principles and surviving comes alive with some brilliant cinematography and terrific performance by Roman as JoJo.