JOJO RABBIT Trailer
Waititi's Imagination and Scarlett Johansson
There has long been a debate on whether one should make fun of historical villains, like Hitler, and turn them into jokes. Some people believe that to make jokes of evil people, you trivialize the horrors they have committed. I have always agreed with Mel Brooks’ belief that comedy is the way to tear down such evil, by turning someone like Hitler into a farce, you chip away at his power. Comedians and satirists today practice this with Donald Trump, hitting him where it hurts — his ego. Taika Waititi (who is of Maori and Russian-Jewish heritage) seems to be of this mindset as well, and in his new film, Jojo Rabbit, plays a caricature of Hitler.
Jojo Rabbit is set in Germany during World War II, and follows a young boy named Jojo “Rabbit” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis,) who discovers that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a young Jewish girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie,) in their attic. Jojo, with the help of his imaginary friend, a moronic version of Hitler (Taika Waititi) must learn to confront his own antisemitism and ethnic nationalism.
The film had its world premiere on September 8, 2019 at the Toronto International Film Festival. In addition to playing the imaginary Hitler, Waititi wrote and directed the film. The film that is sure to make you laugh also stars Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, and Alfie Allen.
The film is scheduled to be theatrically released on October 18, 2019.
