A 10 year old Nazi trainee and his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, tackle the struggles of World War II in a Wes Anderson esque parody? Sure... why not! If that sounds at all like it’s up your alley, JoJo Rabbit is just the movie for you. In all honestly, it’s nice to know that such unique filmmaking is still being looked at and praised in today’s blockbuster heavy environment. Winning TIFF’s biggest award(The Audience Award), the film is sure to have some staying power come Oscar season.

It’s a tough film to grasp upon an initial viewing. There’s a certain energy and vibe that the film captures right off the bat and is able to maintain throughout. The casting is also phenomenal. Roman Griffin as JoJo, Archie Yates as his best friend Yorkie, and Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa are all phenomenally cast. Director Taika Waititi deserves a lot of credit on that front, having the ability to recognize such talent and charm out of fairly unknown actors. The humor is just as strong as you’d expect if you are at all familiar with Waititi’s past work. What makes it particularly memorable is how funny yet poignant all of it is. While there are plenty of laugh out loud moments, the dialogue isn’t doing anything to undercut the gravity of the war but rather showcase the hypocrisy and utter insanity of the Nazi party’s convictions. It’s all very impressive filmmaking and I appreciated how it addressed everything without feeling overly political(something I feel many films fail to do nowadays). 

However, I found myself, for whatever reason, not being able to connect with the story and characters the way I expected. All the elements are there and nothing stands out as needing to be changed. It was just one of those situations in which I found myself not being as fully engrossed as I wanted. 

Then, while still being comedic at points, the film makes somewhat of a tonal shift. It definitely becomes something much more serious and emotional and that’s when I found myself vibing with JoJo Rabbit on a much deeper level. I finally made that connection I was searching for and the whole film kind of changed for me. That’s why I say there’s a lot to take in all at once. Not only does the movie take chances, parodying  such a serious subject, but it also forces you to re-contextualize its first half. A second viewing would help out a lot in taking a definitive stance on the merits of JoJo Rabbit. 

While some may be enraptured from start to finish, I needed a little bit of time and a few more emotional moments to settle in. It’s for sure something to check out just based off its uniqueness. 

I was also reminded during the talk on the car ride home of what I admire about films like this. They are conversation starters that get the gears in your brain going. JoJo Rabbit ends up being a sad, heartfelt, and funny movie that leaves you with a hopeful smile by the end.