Jojo Rabbit

First Hit: A fantastic black comedy that digs deep at the idiocy of the Nazi movement.

Good black comedies are difficult to come by. In recent years “The Death of Stalin” was one such film. As I wrote the previous sentence, I realized that both films are about corrupt leaders of countries. However, I digress.

In this film, Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) is a lonely young boy who idolizes Adolf Hitler and his movement. He lives with his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), while his dad is supposedly off fighting for the Germans in Italy.

To support his belief in the Nazi movement, he’s created an imaginary Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi) who visits him in his make-believe world. His version of Hitler is off the charts hilarious. Hitler struts around making outlandish statements and sings young Jojo’s praises for admiring Hitler and what he stands for.

Jojo and Rosie live in a small German town. All the young boys, like him, are signed up to be part of Hitler’s youth corps. His only friend Yorki (Archie Yates), is a slightly rotund young boy with glasses, and together they are heading off to a Hitler youth camp experience.

The boys and girls all gathered together at the camp are dressed up in their Nazi uniforms. They are led through hilarious drills by Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), a drunken Nazi Youth Camp Leader, and his counterpart, Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson), for the young girls.

One day while in his home alone, he hears noises upstairs and discovers a young woman Elsa Korr (Thomasin McKenzie) living in a secret compartment in the walls of a room upstairs. Elsa is Jewish and is being hidden there by Rosie. Why is his mother hiding a Jew in her home? Then we learn that maybe Elsa may also be a stand-in, of sorts, for his dead sister.

Although Jojo is supposed to dislike and want to kill Jews like Elsa, he discovers that she’s not a bad person and that he’s falling for her in his own 11-year-old boy way.

Discussing all this with his imaginary Hitler is hilarious at times. The absurd statements and thoughts about what Jojo should or should not do about his captive Jew make pointed jabs at Hitler’s insane ideology.

As the film moves along, we sense the end of the war is near, and the German Army is starting to lose the battle against the Russians, Europeans, and US forces. They are closing in which makes Jojo’s Hitler even funnier.

The film is quick-paced and moves rapidly from scene to scene. The quick-paced moments are exemplified when the boys at camp and when the war comes to their little town. However, this film knows when to linger. Scenes like when Jojo and Rosie are walking along the river, or when Jojo and Elsa are writing his book about Jews. The film is also deeply touching as shown when Jojo and Yorkie are shown hugging each other several times throughout the film. It was even moving when Captain Klenzendorf saves Jojo from being imprisoned by the allies. Later, when Jojo dances with Elsa, recalling an earlier time when Jojo danced with Rosie. In these moments the film glows.

I thought the sets and costumes were fantastic and really captured the heart of the film.

Davis was extraordinary as Jojo. He carried this story with a wide range of feelings, emotions, and actions. Waititi is superb as the innovative imagination of Jojo’s Adolf Hitler. He uses sarcasm, expressive physical movement, and whit to define and make this character come alive. McKenzie was sublime as Elsa. Her strength and compassion while attempting to stay alive in a country that reviled her kind was, at times, riveting. Johansson was excellent as Jojo’s mother. She embodied someone straddling the line of life and death along with survival and what’s right wonderfully. Rockwell was over-the-top perfect for this role. When he carefully validated Elsa’s papers, you knew of his heart. Wilson was well cast as Fraulein Rahm, a woman who got away with saying outlandish things. Waititi also wrote and directed this film, and it was clear he knew what he wanted, and he got it, a fun-filled touching black comedy.

Overall: This was an excellent film that also reflected the struggles of the current day.

Leave No Trace

First Hit: Sublimely acted and evenly paced film about a man and his daughter living in a public forest.

From the very beginning this film is work of elegance. The beauty of the forest in the public park, near Portland, OR, where Will (Ben Foster) and Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) are living, presents a sublime backdrop to the beginning of this story.

Will teaches Tom how to cover her tracks, how to hide, and how to escape surveillance. Why? The answer to this, is slowly dosed throughout the film, but never outright explained. This is part of what makes this film excellent.

Each time a helicopter passes overhead, the looks and actions Will takes and makes, gives the audience enough clues pointing to his participation in a war (Middle East) that has him skittish of the public, cities, and the government.

Tom, his daughter is loyal to him and he is her only parent. What happen to her mom, Tom’s wife is not explored. They don’t talk a lot with each other but when they do there is some short speak which has enough in it to keep the audience informed and engaged.

They get found by the Park Rangers and Portland Police and are taken in for questioning. They are separated and questioned and tested. Are there any sexual improprieties between the two? How has she been educated? What is Will willing to do to become more engaged with the world so that he can be reunited with Tom?

The government agencies figure out that he’s not harming Tom, but they insist that Will and Tom need to live in a home, Will needs to work, and Tom needs to go to school. A tree farmer sees an article in the paper about their predicament and offers them mobile home on his land where Will can work helping him, and Tom can go to school.

However, after a few months Will cannot tolerate the lifestyle and tells Tom to pack, they are leaving. They hitch a ride to Washington state where they begin a hike on a logging trail. After spending a very cold night in the wilderness they finally find a logging cabin and get warm.

After Will gets hurt and almost dies, Tom finds help in the way of a group of people living off the grid in a forest. The community is aligned with Will and Tom, in that they don’t like outside interference, help each other out, and leave well enough alone.

In the end, Tom decides she must find her own path while Will finally trusts that she’s found a home without him.

Foster was magnificent. His inward, hidden, brewing of a past that he’s struggling to live with, are fully evident in his performance. His looks and physical movements were perfect for this part. McKenzie was utterly amazing. Her display of loyalty, strength, and integrity towards the truth, her father and being resourceful were sublime. Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini wrote a powerful insightful script. Granik did an amazing job of creating an engaging story with minimal dialogue. The scenes in the forests and in the small places they lived were exceptional.

Overall: This film was finely crafted and Granik’s story was wonderfully presented.