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Jojo Rabbit follows one of Adolf Hitler’s biggest fans, Jojo. Jojo’s social awkwardness and general isolation (save for his second-best friend, Yorki, played by Archie Yates) lead to him adopting Hitler himself as his imaginary friend. However, Jojo’s blind nationalism finds itself challenged when he discovers a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) hiding away in his attic, who his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) invited.

For such a bleak and dire setup, Waititi manages to make the comedy work. Often times political satire can get a little too on the nose to work, but all of the jokes hit the mark in Jojo Rabbit and none stand out as significant duds. Stephen Merchant shines as Captain Deertz, a member of the Gestapo. His pivotal scene was one of the funniest in the movie and included a hysterical deconstruction of formal Nazi introductions (à la “Heil Hitler”).

Scarlett Johansson received less screen time than one may expect based upon her Oscar nomination for the role, but she gave a heartwarming and endearing performance nonetheless. Archie Yates as Yorki was the obvious scene-stealer and got some of the biggest laughs out of the theater. His failing-upwards style and charming naivety played excellently alongside Jojo’s much more serious and focused innocence. At the emotional turning point of Jojo Rabbit, Roman Griffin Davis delivers the knockout punch of the film. Juxtaposed against the jauntiness of the preceding scenes, watching Jojo come to terms with the revelation about his core identity and worldview is incredibly powerful.

Jojo’s revelation leads to the core message of Jojo Rabbit: that the young and emotionally vulnerable are easily susceptible to indoctrination when looking for a place of belonging. Extremists can lead these groups down morally reprehensible paths without them questioning or realizing it. They do not see the bars of their own cage. Although, this can all change when forced to confront the object of their manufactured hatred. When Jojo meets Elsa, the years of propaganda slowly but surely lose their hold on him until the human connection prevails. Jojo Rabbit also acknowledges this approach may not work for the most ardent Nazi supporters and promptly showcases an alternative method.

Jojo Rabbit has heart and delivers a powerful message wrapped in a witty and humorous coating. Taika Waititi fuses an abhorrent tragedy with political satire (that has an admittedly modern bent), to great success. Jojo Rabbit may not make the most unique or crushing observations, but it makes them in a wholly unique way. Plus, with the growing polarization of contemporary politics, these messages bear repeating.

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1917 follows two British soldiers, Lance Corporal Schofield (played by George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Blake (played by Dean-Charles Chapman), as they attempt to deliver a vital message in hopes of saving Blake’s brother and 1,600 other lives. They must trek through hostile enemy territory while racing against the clock to prevent the complete and utter slaughter of their comrades, who are walking straight into a trap.

The narrative naturally lends itself to a certain level of anxiety, and by extension, to the one-shot effect. A good one-shot allows the viewer to put themselves in the situation onscreen and feel apart of the action. For 1917’s high-intensity sequences, this approach works flawlessly. The one-shot amplifies the stress of the scenes and creates some of the most engaging battle segments of recent memory. Unfortunately, maybe only three scenes throughout the film achieve this peak result, with most of the others taking a more thoughtful approach. The quieter scenes are not bad by any means, but you cannot help but notice how unnecessary the one-shot is in those instances. When 1917 slows down to tell a more personal story, the tremendous filmmaking and editing efforts fail to contribute to the film.

Not only does the one-shot fail to contribute at times, it also distracts and pulls you out of the movie. Several of the “hidden” cuts are so painfully obvious with how oddly the camera moves and pans that it distracts you from the weight of the scene you just watched.

But again, at its peak 1917 works immaculately. One scene has you trailing a corporal through a bombed out city at night, with intermittent flares lighting the way. This stands out as 1917’s best sequence, with every element of the film coming together perfectly to form an intense and beautiful triumph. If only the film could have had more of this to offer.

1917 fails to harness its much touted one-shot effect when it takes time to breathe, and in doing so often distracts from its more emotional moments with clunky and distracting camera movements. But that is the extent of the issues with the film; that it sometimes fails to live up to the expectations set by its own efforts. Although a tremendously frustrating work at times, 1917 still stands out as a film everyone should see. Its highs are so incredibly high that they mostly make up for the fact they are so few and far between.

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Click here to read our review of Jojo Rabbit.

Taika Waititi’s latest film, Jojo Rabbit, looks absurd in the best of ways. According to the official synopsis,

“Set during World War Two, an awkward young German boy whose only ally is his imaginary friend Hitler has his naïve patriotism tested when he meets a young girl who upends his world views.”

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If that doesn’t sound like a wonderfully wacky (and assuredly controversial) recipe for adventure then what does? Watching the trailer there are strong Wes Anderson vibes, reminiscent of Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. The sets have the same pristine/uncanny feeling too. Taika Waititi assuming the role of Adolf Hitler himself was a surprise, but he seems to play him with the aloofness of an imaginary friend and with a dark sense of self-deprecating humor. Getting to watch Waititi’s silly and satirical portrayal of one of history’s most infamous men definitely is reason enough to circle October 18, 2019 on your calendars.

While the trailer didn’t give too much of anything away, it certainly caught the eye. With a cast including Taika Waititi, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Alfie Allen, and Rebel Wilson (huh?), you should be confident that at the very least some good performances will come of this.

We also got our first look at the official poster. The unique direction they took with the design is commendable, but the tagline in the upper left could be removed. “An Anti-Hate Satire,” comes across as trying just a little too hard. Not exactly subtle. Including it causes the whole poster to feel cramped, especially since it does not stand out enough among all of the names.

Tell us what you think of the debut trailer and poster for Jojo Rabbit down below!

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