I Finally Get Why Jojo Rabbit is a Brilliant Movie.
Jojo Rabbit is a controversial 2019 film which has won 48 film accolades, including the coveted Peopleâs Choice Award of the Toronto Film Festival and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Yet, it has had mixed reviews, which is not surprising given its premise. The BBC website describes it as a âsatire about a young boy in 1940s Germany who discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their houseâ. The fact that the child in question is a fanatic Nazi whose imaginary friend is no other than Adolf Hitler himself would be enough to put off anyone for whom the Holocaust and anti-Semitism are no joke. Yet, I was mystified that a movie with such a blatantly insensitive scenario would gather so much praise. Was this just a sign that society had now decided that Nazism and anti-Semitism were nothing more than a laughing matter? Was this a win for those who complain endlessly against âcancel cultureâ?
Since I had mixed feelings about whether I would like this film or hate it, I never committed to spend my money to watch it in the movie theaters when it came out. Yet, it was recently available for streaming at Disney+, and I thought Iâd give it a try to see what the fuss was all about, and whether it really deserved all awards it won. Iâd watch it basically for free, and I would just stop watching it when it became apparent it was not worth my time. No harm done.
The movieâs first thirty minutes or so feel rather disappointing. As comedy goes, itâs not that funny, and the whole thing about Adolf Hitler as imaginary friend of a 10-year-old Nazi fanatic is frankly uncomfortable, not to mention the opening credits featuring 1940s Nazi footage to the sound of Beatles music. Yet, I could only wonder what made this movie win so many accolades, so I soldiered on. I am glad I did. If you wonder, the movie does deserve all those awards.
The thing with Jojo Rabbit is that it is more than a movie. Itâs a weapon. Films these days typically tell people the stories that they want to hear. By doing so, they âpreach to the Popeâ, because the people who watch them is already aligned and in agreement with the plot. We want everyone to watch the movies we like, because we hope everyone else would learn something we already know. Yet, it often happens that those we want to watch these movies have no interest in anything deep or enlightening. They rather watch something lighthearted, funny, and outrageously offensive. And that is Jojo Rabbitâs secret weapon: it infiltrates âenemy territoryâ by posing as an insensitive comedy and then, unexpectedly, delivers a well-crafted explosion of heartfelt, serious and enlightening drama. It caters precisely to the audience who needs to understand its message. The fact that most people who are sensitive to the seriousness of ant-Semitism would steer away from this film just proves how well this movie succeeds in reaching its target audience. Target audience defined not as those who would âlikeâ this movie, but those who âneed to hearâ this story.
Make no mistake: this is not your average âwhite saviorâ movie either. Hearing that the plot includes a âJewish girl hidingâ may evoke the idea of a helpless victim ultimately saved by the inevitably redeemed ex-Nazi kid. Yet, the real savior here is that âJewish girlâ, and not just as a redeemer of a lost childâs soul.
Even if you are not the target market for this movie, because âsomething lighthearted, funny, and outrageously offensiveâ is not your thing, go watch it. Because, unlike the vast majority of award-winning movies, this one shows how to tell a story to those who need to hear it.












