The Good Little Aryan (Rabbit)

Some of the best comedies are set in the most unexpected times and places.  ‘Jojo Rabbit,’ the latest feature from the talented Taika Waititi (‘What We Do in the Shadows,’ ‘Thor: Ragnarok’), adapts Christine Leunen’s novel ‘Caging Skies’ into a scathingly funny satire of Nazi Germany’s final days as seen through the eyes of a young “Hitler Youth” fanatic who happens to have a wacky imaginary friend named Adolf.

 

British newcomer Roman Griffin Davis plays Jojo Betzler, a 10-year old who, like many others in his position at the time, dreamed of greatness and glory for his beloved Fatherland as promised by his idol, Adolf Hitler.  In fact, he speaks with his so-called “best friend” - to the chagrin of his non-imaginative real life best friend, Yorgi (Archie Yates) - every day.  So imagine his dismay when he discovered that his dear mama Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) harbors a Jew (Elsa played by Thomasin McKenzie) in the attic, henceforth pitting his loyalty to the state (and imaginary friend) against his love for his mother and his own sense of self‑preservation.

 

‘Jojo Rabbit’ isn’t the first movie to successfully mine humor from what has to be the greatest human tragedy of the last century; Roberto Benigni’s 1997 Oscar winner ‘Life is Beautiful’ pretty much did the same thing to great effect, so let’s not get unduly sensitive here.  Loony, heart-warming and extraordinarily wonderful, ‘Jojo Rabbit’ is a refreshingly different coming-of-age comedy about the ultimate redemption of a boy, with a hugely talented cast including Waititi as the imaginary Adolf himself.

 

Grade: A