rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2020-02-10 05:56 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2020-02-10 05:56 pm
Entry tags:
in lieu of the Venn diagram I had planned... movie!
I have no interest in the Oscars, other than maybe a casual moment of curiosity about what clothes people wear. So it was almost entirely accidental that I've actually watched two of the seven films nominated for best picture this year.
A friend of a friend had bought an Oscars week pass for a nearby movie theater and then his mother got sick; so I saw Jojo Rabbit with his pass, accompanied by our mutual friend. All I knew in advance was "little boy and imaginary friend Hitler," which was not much of a summary of the film, as it turns out. As someone who enjoys a bit of film dissection and doesn't mind knowing some details in advance, I probably should have found out more before watching it.
So. It was... weird. I've watched other films that Taika Waititi worked on, and this one is definitely the strangest of those that I've seen. I'm not sure what to say, other than: I felt uncomfortable a lot of the time. I'm glad to know that Waititi is Jewish, because the things that he was mocking should probably only be mocked by someone from the inside.
Setting: a German city (Berlin? possibly?) near the end of World War II. Young children, including Jojo, are still being "trained" in youth camps. Jojo, a dreamy sort of child, imagines his own version of Hitler (played by Waititi himself) as a sort of personal cheerleader. Jojo gets bullied at camp, tries to show off and gets injured, which leads to more bullying because of the resulting limp and scars. We see him and his mother (Scarlett Johannsen), and learn that she may be working for some kind of resistance movement, even if Jojo doesn't really understand that.
Jojo's obsession with "The Jews" as villains is clearly cultural; this belief system is challenged when he discovers that his mother has been hiding a Jewish teenager in the cupboards in the bedroom that belongs to Jojo's now-dead sister. Their interactions are the best part of this film. Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) has the strongest characterization in this movie, I think; Jojo is the titular lead, but he's also a ten-year-old boy, still changing and learning.
While the ending of the film is hopeful (and really adorable, I'll admit), there's a big cliff ahead that's impossible for me to ignore, which is this: many children in post-war Germany did not fare well. Especially those without a parent--and while Jojo's father could still return, it's not a sure thing.
Picking through my own reaction, I think part of feeling ill at ease stems from worry about the kids playing such key roles in this film. Acting hasn't always been kind to children. I hope that Roman Griffin Davis enjoyed the work--he certainly did it well--and that it doesn't have any negative effects on him.
A friend of a friend had bought an Oscars week pass for a nearby movie theater and then his mother got sick; so I saw Jojo Rabbit with his pass, accompanied by our mutual friend. All I knew in advance was "little boy and imaginary friend Hitler," which was not much of a summary of the film, as it turns out. As someone who enjoys a bit of film dissection and doesn't mind knowing some details in advance, I probably should have found out more before watching it.
So. It was... weird. I've watched other films that Taika Waititi worked on, and this one is definitely the strangest of those that I've seen. I'm not sure what to say, other than: I felt uncomfortable a lot of the time. I'm glad to know that Waititi is Jewish, because the things that he was mocking should probably only be mocked by someone from the inside.
Setting: a German city (Berlin? possibly?) near the end of World War II. Young children, including Jojo, are still being "trained" in youth camps. Jojo, a dreamy sort of child, imagines his own version of Hitler (played by Waititi himself) as a sort of personal cheerleader. Jojo gets bullied at camp, tries to show off and gets injured, which leads to more bullying because of the resulting limp and scars. We see him and his mother (Scarlett Johannsen), and learn that she may be working for some kind of resistance movement, even if Jojo doesn't really understand that.
Jojo's obsession with "The Jews" as villains is clearly cultural; this belief system is challenged when he discovers that his mother has been hiding a Jewish teenager in the cupboards in the bedroom that belongs to Jojo's now-dead sister. Their interactions are the best part of this film. Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) has the strongest characterization in this movie, I think; Jojo is the titular lead, but he's also a ten-year-old boy, still changing and learning.
While the ending of the film is hopeful (and really adorable, I'll admit), there's a big cliff ahead that's impossible for me to ignore, which is this: many children in post-war Germany did not fare well. Especially those without a parent--and while Jojo's father could still return, it's not a sure thing.
Picking through my own reaction, I think part of feeling ill at ease stems from worry about the kids playing such key roles in this film. Acting hasn't always been kind to children. I hope that Roman Griffin Davis enjoyed the work--he certainly did it well--and that it doesn't have any negative effects on him.