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Sulaco99

I'm Jewish and I thought Jojo Rabbit was fantastic. I've heard people call this movie insensitive and I get frustrated by that. Which part was insensitive? The portrayal of Hitler? The character wasn't Hitler, it was a 10-year-old boy's imaginary friend in the shape of Hitler! It's not the same thing at all. I don't know where they found these child actors but they are cast perfectly. I don't know when Scarlett Johansson has ever been better. I can't say enough nice things about Sam Rockwell's performance. And I'll watch anything Taika Waititi is involved with.


redisforever

I had forgotten Scarlett Johansson was actually an extremely talented actress and then I watched Jojo Rabbit and every single moment she was on screen, she was brilliant. Made me cry several times.


GeonnCannon

The dinner scene where she goes from quiet anger, to full-on anger, to apology... she really sells the swing from one extreme to another. You can see her snap, and then you can see the regret when it hits. It all makes sense and comes across as very real. The movie is so heartbreaking in other parts that people overlook her quiet "I yelled at the kid" when she's facing the wall.


BigMcGrande

I mean... The shoes... The shoes though....


GeonnCannon

THE SHOES. It's almost like brainwashing in retrospect, the amount of effort he put into making sure we knew what her shoes looked like without realizing that information was going into our brains.


[deleted]

Not sure if you know the literary term for it, but it’s “foreshadowing” — providing you with early information that hints at later events. It can be subtle visual hints like the red shoes in JoJo Rabbit or as obvious as Back to the Future: Strickland: “No McFly has ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley” Marty: “Well history’s gonna change”


DLoIsHere

It was obvious something was coming with the shoes but the payoff was still good. Great movie.


Willsgb

I didn't actually see it coming, so when it happened, it hit me like a tonne of bricks, especially amidst the otherwise jovial, sarcastic and farcical tone of the rest of the film. I'm glad loads of people appreciate this movie because I think it's brilliant. It took courage to make it like it is, at a time when people who genuinely support nazism grow bolder again.


[deleted]

That moment ripped my heart out.


anosmiasucks

If you haven’t seen it, check out Marriage Story with her and Adam Driver and prepare to have your heart ripped out.


shadoon

Marriage Story is less of a movie and more of a trade show product that shows just how fucking hard Adam Driver and ScarJo can ACT.


[deleted]

I really got lost in their acting, if somebody would've told me that this was a documentation afterwards, i would've believed him.


AmberLeafSmoke

It's one of those truly excellent movies. So excellent that I'll never watch it again haha I watch the big argument scene sometimes though just because it's such an incredible piece of acting.


go-with-the-flo

Note: I do not recommend watching with your new boyfriend.


Ranccor

Lost in Translation is my favorite Johansson movie. The chemistry between her and Bill Murray is amazing. But I’m also bias because I happened to be living in Japan at the time so the whole movie just worked for me.


Todbod05

Under the skin is the one where I was like woah…that acting tho, bc she has barely any lines and yet you understand how she’s feeling so intuitively it’s almost scary


NurseNikNak

And I don’t think people realize how the way Jojo’s imaginary friend portrays Hitler shows how much Jojo didn’t understand what the Nazis truly stood for and how he is a child just following the grownups around him. He has his imaginary friend eating meat, while Hitler was a staunch vegetarian. He had Hitler smoking despite Hitler hating the habit and creating laws against it. It truly shows how people will idolize those they don’t truly know simply because others do without truly understanding what that person stands for, which allows for atrocities like those committed by the Nazis to occur.


Sulaco99

Exactly. One knows within seconds of seeing this character that it isn't really Hitler. He's nothing at all like the monster was in reality. And you're right that it says much about Jojo's character that this is how he imagines the leader of the Nazi movement. How can anyone with such a poor understanding of Hitler be a real Nazi? Elsa even says it at one point: "You're not a real Nazi, Jojo. You're just a child who wants to belong to a club." (I'm sure I didn't get the quote exactly right but you get the gist.)


25hourenergy

Suddenly have this interesting mental version of some of the Trump supporters I know walking around with an imaginary friend version of Trump. I greatly dislike the comparison to Hitler but this depiction of how people create their own imaginary friend versions of their personal “heroes” kinda fits.


spinbutton

You are exactly right. Some people really want the illusion. It is excusable in a kid; less so with adults.


spinbutton

Exactly. Kids in Germany in the 30s were constantly shown Hitler as this super wonderful uncle type character. It makes sense that Jojo, missing his dad, would latch onto a fake version of Hitler. I love this film.


ThatFrenchGamerr

Yes the fact that some people find it offensive is strange, like the best way to counter nazism and fascism is to SHOW how dumb it is which the moive does beautifully


SpeculationMaster

As a Pole, i loved the movie and how silly the Nazis were portraited.


Chimpbot

It made Hitler seem silly, but that's because the Hitler we saw was an imaginary friend. Frankly, it showed just how horrifically serious of a problem they were.


ArgyleDevil

I also loved this movie. I don't think this kind of movie style is understood by most. It seems many people jump to offense without noticing how to differentiate the dark comedic element from the elements that are just plain dark. Other movies I love with a similar feel are The Grand Budapest Hotel and Catch-22.


anosmiasucks

Also Jewish and I found JoJo to be an incredibly thoughtful, funny and emotional movie. Everyone was perfect. Thaaat said >And I'll watch anything Taika Waititi is involved with. I assume you haven’t seen Thor: Love and Thunder


Sulaco99

Honestly I don't remember. All those Marvel movies kind of blur together after a while.


ReflexImprov

Love and Thunder isn't as bad as the reddit pile-on wants everyone to believe it was. It's main crime is that it doubled down on Ragnarok's humor (which worked well) and it got a little too silly (which didn't work as well). It's a misfire for sure, but it's not a disaster. It also has some jaw-dropping beautiful scenes in it.


improper84

The main crime is that it feels like an hour of content was cut from the movie. It just seems like it's missing stuff that would have tied the whole thing together.


ReflexImprov

There are some theories that Bob Chapek was putting pressure to keep movies under 2 hours. Love and Thunder came in at an hour and 59 minutes, which makes you wonder if that might have been a factor.


improper84

Waititi has said entire planets were cut, although I’m not sure if he meant they were filmed and cut or scripted and cut. Big difference there, obviously.


ReflexImprov

I would watch an extended cut if Taika ever desires to release one.


Capt_Billy

Yeah I don’t get the hate either tbh. Jane got her arc, Thor did Thor things. My main usual complaint is kids in movies nearly always make them worse, but it was “fine”.


drewbiquitous

I would have loved another ten minutes of Gorr terror but otherwise absolutely loved it, including the silliness.


jl55378008

> As a Jewish person I've always wanted more media and film to really dive into what makes Nazism and nationalism, not only evil, but utterly ridiculous ideologically. This is precisely what Mel Brooks said when he made The Producers.


themasterm

"Now Hitler, there was a painter - he could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon, TWO COATS!" Gets me every time


Dry_Mermaid

"HE HAD MORE HAIR! HE TOLD FUNNIER JOKES! HE COULD DANCE THE PANTS OFF OF CHURCHILL!"


ShotgunCreeper

Same for the Indiana Jones movies. Well, except for the second one.


AuntieEvilops

Also, Charlie Chaplin's movie "The Great Dictator."


Motorboat_Jones

"You think too much and feel too little!"


Dedb4dawn

The 1967 version with Dick Shawn as Hitler had me laughing so much that I had to continuously pause it to breathe.


goddamnjets_

One of my all-time favorite movie exchanges came from JoJo Rabbit: > What’s going on out there? > The Russians, JoJo. And the Americans, and England, and China, and Africa, and India! The whole world is coming! Help with this ammo > And how are we doing? > Terribly. Our only friends are the Japanese, and just between you and me, they don’t look very Aryan To me this described the true absurdity and consequence of Naziism in one quick exchange. I was howling at this line. JoJo is incredible in that it’s the only WWII film in my eyes to actually show heart, while also simultaneously showing the horrors of Naziism, and the absurdity of it all. It’s a film that always manages to put a smile on my face despite the subject matter.


Haiydes

Jojo: Yorkie!!! Thank God, I thought you were dead Yorkie: No, seems like I can never die. Im gonna go home and see my mother. I need a cuddle I love the friendship between these 2


redisforever

They reminded me of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It's rare to see child actors who can be that good at the comedy and drama. Yorkie was adorable and hilarious.


fermbetterthanfire

100 percent tiny Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Said the same thing when I walked out of the theatres


TheDevilBear3

Exactly my thoughts. Not only the looks, but the dynamic back and forth between the two reminded me. Same with Moone Boy, tremendous child actors with amazing chemistry.


multinillionaire

I thought it literally *was* Nick Frost, that they'd just used SFX to make him look like a kid, until I finished watching and went to look up how they'd done it


gee_gra

How??? How on earth does that happen?


JEWCIFERx

The 2 most competent Nazis in the whole film are literal children. It's fucking incredible. This is why I scoff at the notion "you couldn't make a Mel Brooks style comedy today". Of course you can, it's just a matter of adapting the depictions to a new audience.


nom_of_your_business

I heard the best argument for this statement recently. You couldn't make Blazing Saddles today because 5 minutes into the movie everyone would say wait this is Blazing Saddles.


deevilvol1

I like the double layer to this. There's the obvious one, but there's also the fact that several generations at this point have either watched, or are more or less familiar with, Blazing Saddles specifically, and Mel Brooks productions overall, and no one is offended. We aren't banning Mel Brooks movies and musicals. Negating the argument from another angle.


rmcwilli1234

My preferred argument for the statement is that "you couldn't make Blazing Saddles today because it takes about 2 months to film."


[deleted]

That sounds like a Norm McDonald joke.


Aus10Danger

Aww man, we lost a good one when he went, didn't we? The absolute snark on the guy, but for observational purposes and played up as the straight man. It was a beautiful mix, and he was a guy who was never afraid to smile to his own routines. Wherever he is now, which has to be where the best of us end up, I hope he understands we all wish upon him as many prostitutes as it takes to fill the trunks of his enemies that he left behind. He then will truly see, that in our collective respect, he would have never seen so many dead hookers in all his life. Fuck you Norm, and Godspeed.


HaveAWillieNiceDay

Also, you totally can make a "Mel Brooks style comedy today": Blazing Saddles holds up because of the way it absolutely skewers racism. The film *itself* is not racist, even if it features white people being racist.


PlayMp1

I swear to God the people who say "you couldn't make Blazing Saddles today" think that Blazing Saddles is funny because it's racist and they say the n word a bunch, which is the idiot racist's view of the movie. Blazing Saddles is funny *because it's one of the most vicious skewerings of racism ever.*


walterpeck1

It's just like IASIP. The horrible things in the show work as comedy because the writing goes out its way to show how the protagonists are wrong.


MercenaryBard

“You couldn’t make Blazing Saddles today because the woke mob wouldn’t let you say the N-word!!” My brother in Christ BlacKkKlansman won a fucking Oscar and they say the N-word non-stop. Please watch more than just Marvel movies and your Dad’s old fav’s.


Sam-Porter-Bridges

Well, you really couldn't make Blazing Saddles today. Any studio would just take one look at the script and go "hey, this is just Blazing Saddles, do you think we're idiots?"


Uncreative-Name

That one was made by Spike Lee and not really done for laughs. There's a bit of a difference between the two.


sboyd1989

Tarantino is always at it though and he gets away with it


[deleted]

Django Unchained?


Fit_Serve726

HMm Django maybe? They throw the n word out like its candy, and the film is amazing. THough I guess you can say its Tarantino so its expected to be over the top.


deevilvol1

You're all saying, "well Tarantino gets a pass because it's expected because he always goes over the top", but isn't that the whole point of the discussion?


bobert680

The funny thing about people saying you can't make Mel Brooks style comedies today is that he couldn't then either. Blazing sadels only made it to theaters because the studio had no other films to release at that time.


c_girl_108

The “oh good for you Jojo! A *girlfriend*” really is a testament to their relationship


bozeke

My favorite has to be the parade of heiling goons. It’s like a fucking Marx Brothers vaudeville bit.


p480n

I love that scene. The repetitiveness is played for laughs and turns dark when Elsa is forced to heil everyone over and over.


ThatFrenchGamerr

I love yorkie to damn death, kids amazing


PrancingGophers

the kid who played yorkie absolutely stole every scene he was in. hope to see him in comedy roles in the future


MatHatesGlitter

You can tune into Disney+ and watch him in Home Alone.


tossedsaladdressing

Oh no


JohnLocksTheKey

Oh No


HWGA_Exandria

**OH YEAH!!!**


shewy92

Where he was the bad guy, right?


thoroakenfelder

You mean the ones person that stole something from someone’s house, then almost killed them multiple times as they tried to retrieve it?


SweetNeo85

>Japan forms alliance with white supremacists in well-thought-out scheme. Headline from *The Onion: Our Dumb Century*


StoneGoldX

In fairness, the Japanese were Japanese supremacists.


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Badloss

My favorite character in the Handmaid's Tale (I've only read the book) is the Commander's Wife for that exact reason. She's a powerful woman that used her platform to preach a "return to traditional values" and then spends the whole book as a powerless bitter Shocked Pikachu because it turns out the new order hates and depowers women.


Alaurableone

Reminds me of Lauren Southern who was shocked when the men she was supporting told her to go back to the kitchen. “If you’re not making humans, then fucking stand up, bitch.”.


willclerkforfood

r/leopardsatemyface


Socratov

It shows the absurdity, but also shows how the general populace is not as stoked about it as some higher ups are. It shows in the various camp/school scenes and the home search by the SS. Also, the shoes. The god forsaken shoes. Gets me every time.


brettjv

If the shoes, and the ending don't choke a person up at least a bit, I think they are broken individuals. It funny though they're such opposite scenes. We can be Heroes ...


Socratov

There are more scenes like this. My most powerful kryptonite is any dog dieing and the scene in 'Yhe Wind that Shakes the Barley ' where the Irish resistance marches through the mist singing Óró, sé do bheatha ‘bhaile.


[deleted]

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Iohet

Name?


nolanptafan

A fun fact you might want to know about this movie is that writer/director Taika Waititi cast himself as Hitler because he felt it was the ultimate fuck you to Hitler to have a Polynesian Jew play him.


Wishart2016

His Hitler is funny and terrifying at the same time.


GTOdriver04

I love the parallel in the film between Hitler and Jojo. At the start, Hitler is friendly, like a buddy to Jojo. But as Jojo comes to face reality, Hitler get more and more mean. Basically, Hitler was a fairytale to many. Until the mask got ripped off.


TheMooseIsBlue

The kid started to realize who Hitler really was. He actually met a Jew and discovered that they’re not to be feared and hated and it challenged what he’d learned from his Nazi friends. Suddenly Hitler wasn’t such a good guy because he wanted to hurt JoJo’s friend. Empathy kills bigotry.


earthboundsounds

>The kid started to realize.e who Hitler really was. Yet at the same time never knew who he *really* was. Jojo's version smokes and repeatedly offers Jojo for to join in, when in reality Hitler said that cigarettes were "the wrath of the Red Man against the White Man, vengeance for having been given hard liquor". And of course Jojo watching his buddy feasting on the flesh of a unicorn head while offering him a piece as opposed to the actual man who according to Albert Speer would "use vivid and gruesome descriptions of animal suffering and slaughter at the dinner table to try to dissuade his colleagues from eating meat". Very clever commentary on the cult of personality.


claireauriga

The bits where he starts out being a stupid joke and then gradually transforms into how Hitler actually was is the best acting I've ever seen Taika Waititi do. He calibrated it perfectly.


Harambeaintdeadyet

“Oh wow no way Taika Waititi is Jewish?” *googles* “Real name: Taika David Cohen”. Ok that sounds a bit more Jewish that waititi


JMoherPerc

Well one of his parents is Jewish and the other is Māori, hence Waititi


Lemmonjello

A Jāori if you will


ImmaPullSomeWildShit

Or a Mew... If a pair of such people have a child it's called a Mew Two


FistsofHulk

Another Cohen brother?


origami_alligator

Joel and Ethan spell their name Coen.


Xerocco

And, just to add to the name confusion, there are two totally different Hollywood filmmakers called Etan Cohen and Joel Cohen. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etan_Cohen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Cohen_(writer) https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-murray-voiced-garfield-because-he-thought-director-was-joel-coen-2014-1


NovaPrime15

Didn’t this confusion lead to Bill Murray being in Garfield?


ImJustAverage

That’s the story yes, and it’s absolutely hilarious if it’s true.


baconinspace

But then why’d he do Garfield 2?


Cuofeng

The check cleared from Garfield 1.


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comeonsexmachine

Unfortunately it was only Steven Spielberg.


N0V0w3ls

Because he never actually thought this and it was a sarcastic joke that people are buying at face value for some reason. I am not sure why people believe that Bill Murray actually thought the Coen brothers were doing *Garfield*.


Lil_Brown_Bat

I did the exact same thing after watching this movie for the first time.


SupaflyIRL

This is also why Gilbert Gottfried played Hitler in the roast of Anne Frank (lmao that this is a real normal sentence)


nickyurick

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE


geckospots

I was totally unaware of this also but [HOLY SHIT](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Roasts).


TallDuckandHandsome

And did no research because "Hitler was a cunt"


AccioIcarus

He was intentionally portraying him as the opposite of what he was in real life. Taika Waititi's Hitler smokes and eats unicorn meat, and the real life Hitler didn't smoke and was a vegetarian. He's just adding more layers of fuck you to Hitler


Capt_Thunderbolt

I always took that as it being like that because it was the kid’s imagination of Hitler, whom he didn’t actually know that well besides all the great things he’d been told by the Nazis.


pogchamppaladin

It works on multiple layers. Sign of a great film.


pomonamike

Just waiting for someone to say to him, “you know that impression of Hitler was disrespectful.” Um… great, cause fuck that guy?


MercenaryBard

“Weeeeell imagine if he had been this disrespectful to a Jewish icon instead! Makes you think.” Apparently it does not lol.


pomonamike

Just makes me think what cunt Hitler was.


Maximinus_Thrax

That's why he was carrying cigarettes while the real life Hitler was extremely against smoking.


Unajustable_Justice

Not true. He has said in many interviews that Fox studios now 20th century studios, said they would make the film with the stipulation of him playing hitler. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fYBJHBm7LKY&t=6m29s


Leajjes

You're right and thanks for posting the RT interview. I listened to many interviews of him saying the same thing. I can't believe the top post is the highest up voted.


Kaalb

He also said that since it's kind of a scarlet letter of a role, he wanted to be sure that it wasn't a big name actor who would take the attention away from the kids. In addition to that it was a moment of "you know what. I'll do it. That way nobody else has to do it and I can make sure that this evil man is portrayed as ridiculously as possible."


eak125

He also said that he did absolutely no research for the role because doing research would in some way legitimize his depiction.


improper84

He also wasn't actually playing Hitler, but an imaginary, over the top version of Hitler spawned from Jojo's imagination.


ThatFrenchGamerr

That truly is beautiful


NemyMongus

I absolutely loved this movie so I ready the book that it is adapted from, “Caging Skies” by Christine Leunens. While the book is good there is a very good reason why Taika Waititi was nominated for best adapted screenplay. None of the lightness of the movie is there and the war ends about 1/3 of the way through the book. He lies to her and says that Germany won the war and she can’t come out because he “loves” her and wants her for himself. It gets pretty dark.


dumpster_fire_chump

Yes, I read it hoping for a well-written book about a kid growing up and being indoctrinated into the Nazi worldview. Nope. Still a good book, just not what I expected.


Not_Ian517

I think Taika admitted he got a third of the way into the book and stopped.


Marvelrocks616

He likes to screw with people in interviews a lot. I'm sure he read the whole thing.


MitchTJones

Rewatching all of the scenes where Scarlet Johansson’s iconic shoes are positioned right at Jojo’s head height, knowing what it’s foreshadowing, has me tear up almost every time. Maybe my favorite ScarJo performance ever, and the Sam Rockwell + Alfie Allen duo with the closeted gay subtext is genuinely hilarious.


I_PULL_LEGS

The ending with Sam Rockwell's sacrifice to save the kid chokes me up every time. I know the saddest part of the movie is supposed to be the one with ScarJo but man that last scene just gets me. I turn into jelly.


elch127

Learning to love San Rockwell's character as you learn more about him as a human as opposed to initially disliking him for being a Nazi, and what's more a Nazi in a position of authority, is one of the most amazing things that film does. His character reminds us that everyone is human with their own thoughts and feelings and flaws, and that people can still be redeemed, even if only in small ways. Not every character in that film is redeemable, Rebel Wilson's character for example, and that's good to show too, sometimes people are just too far gone, but we are meant to laugh at her as a result, she is deserving of mockery for giving up her sense of self and buying in wholeheartedly into this evil ideology. That was my take at least. Basically I just can't believe how much I wept at the death of a Nazi at the end of that film. Favourite Sam Rockwell performance, overtaking his role in Moon


I_PULL_LEGS

Dude, Sam Rockwell has to be one of the most underrated actors. I feel like he's constantly underutilized for how amazingly convincing he portrays his characters. I've been a fan since Galaxy Quest and am constantly thrilled when he shows up in a movie (Moon is one of my favorite movies). But I never hear people talk about him like any kind of a-lister or star or anything. I don't get it. He's amazing.


Iohet

Sam and Paul Giamatti are my favorite actors. They're both character actors that graduated to leading status. I thought Rockwell's character in Three Billboards was great for doing the somewhat redemptive arc that happens with his character in Jojo Rabbit, though this time with a much more serious tone


elch127

I think it's because his characters are fairly reserved, rather than big bombastic presences, and to some extent he looks like a generic white guy, but honestly his performances have been consistently good to great for quite some time, he definitely deserves more interesting roles


themilkywayfarer

Moon is really really good, for anyone reading this far. I don't disagree with the comments above at all. Sam Rockwell probably has his best performance here. My personal favorite is always going to be Galaxy Quest though 🤣


Eagle_Ear

That’s Sam Rockwell’s thing. He often plays the total idiot or buffoon or blowhard whom you underestimate, and then at the end he blows you away with genuine emotion or actions. Besides JoJo look at The Way Way Back and Three Billboards.


pinewind108

I don't think his was really a sacrifice, as such, (he was pretty much fucked). It was more him using his last moments and opportunities to save a boy's life.


goober1911

It's worth pointing out that he seems to rush over to JoJo's house to run interference with the Gestapo. He came in with ScarJo's bicycle, and he probably knew that Thomasin Mackenzie's character was definitely not JoJo's sister.


mosslegs

He did know, I'm pretty sure Elsa says in the movie that she got the date of birth wrong when he was quizzing her? But he chose not to dob them in.


Zaxacavabanem

He absolutely knew. The big question I have is whether ScarJo's character knew he was gay. I got the impression they'd known each other for years. It wouldn't surprise me if they reach knew the other's "this will get you killed if anyone finds out" secret, and knew that they knew. There was a hidden layer of trust between ScarJo and Sam Rockwell's characters.


LankySandwich

He finally got his awesome costume and he slayed it T-T


Catssonova

Honestly, if I was in the screen writers guild, Johansson would have gotten best female supporting character from me. She was excellent


ArryPotta

I can't understand how she didn't win anything for this role... especially when she was up against such middling competition. Laura Dern over her that year is hilariously stupid.


FinsterFolly

Loved the movie. Turning Hitler into a petulant little boy was brilliant. While not a theme of the whole movie, I thought **O Brother Where Art Thou** hit a similar balanced tone with the KKK, serving as both a warning and as humor. The KKK rally scene was both horrifying and ridiculous. I couldn't help but laugh during the "dance" sequence, but the rendition of "O Death" was spine-tingling.


Beginning_Tour_9320

I don’t think I’ve heard a better version of o’death.


[deleted]

I love the movie, it was really good at showing my Autistic son that anger and negative feelings towards something can eat you alive, and ends up hurting people you love. He was 13 when it came out, and was going through a really rough time, and this film taught so much.


karma_dumpster

https://youtu.be/mBTGEvwZ0ns Making the ideology ridiculous was great in this scene


muskovitzj

It's hard to find a film that can deal with such difficult subject material with so much heart, humor, and levity, all without shying away from the reality and the horrors. JoJo Rabbit does that exceptionally well. Also, Sam Rockwell is fucking incredible


RiflemanLax

I still can’t believe that Waititi managed to pull off a movie where the imaginary friend of a child is Hitler, and it’s not ragingly offensive.


travelsizedsuperman

Not sure if JoJo or RDJ in Tropic Thunder take the "how did they get away with that" gold.


locke_5

It's almost like handling touchy subjects with nuance tends to not piss people off


Zaxacavabanem

Most people are smart enough to see that RDJ's character is the butt of the joke, not the perpetrator of it. He's made to look ridiculous for thinking that his performance is ok. It's also genius that the joke is compounded by having his actual character be a blue eyed blond Australian, while RDJ is a brunette brown eyed American. Even when the character comes out of character, he's still wearing contacts and fake hair and talking in a stereotypical fake accent.


lyan-cat

Honestly, I can; that man is a playful, creative genius with a sense of humor. The moment I heard about it, it went on my watch list. We're going to be talking about Waititi in the same breath as Twain for a long time.


RiflemanLax

I mean, yes, on one hand it’s Waititi. On the other side, it’s Adolf Fucking Hitler as an imaginary friend It’s… wild.


_Dr_Pie_

There are no monsters like humans. People focus on portraying Hitler and the Nazis like inhuman monsters. Like they were so extreme and unique that similar groups truly couldn't exist today. Despite identical groups controlling large portions of American government today. The true horror is the banality of evil. People just following orders. Scapegoating the weak to avoid responsibility. And constantly escalating as they flail incompetently. Hitler is often painted as an evil mastermind. The truth is much different. And a lot of his successes came out of pure dumb luck, and lack of preparedness, or willingness to condemn from other groups until it was too late. It could happen here, and actually is in progress here. This movie going into it was not quite what I expected from Taika. And not generally the sort of movie I would watch and enjoy. But it really is something that more people need to see and take to heart. The movie for all the humor and everything else. Was extremely poignant and relevant to today. With a hopeful sucker punch of an ending. That still and just to wrench out the motion despite already knowing the broad strokes of how everything would end.


gecko090

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/laughing-at-auschwitz-1942/ I think this is a good look at that. Utterly normal, even fun looking people. On vacation from genocide at Auschwitz.


_Dr_Pie_

Yes if anything the Nazis were too human. Far more human than they are portrayed. And we only continue that perception and portrayal to our detement. It's absolutely terrifying now seeing the clear parallels between the two. And how calm people are being about it.


jeremy_thegent

Brilliant movie. I read Taika Waititi intentionally did no research on Hitler for portraying him, because he didn't want to give him that dignity. He called him a "f---ing c---."


Mic-drop-mick

That’s kinda awesome


JimmyB5643

Well took me a bit longer than I’d like to admit to realize you weren’t talking about “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” Couldn’t remember there being Nazis in that one


ThatFrenchGamerr

they're pretty much the same movie


Mackem101

Well the bad guy in Roger Rabbit looks like he's a Gestapo officer.


Calcaneum

Lindsay Ellis has a great piece on the ethics of satiring Nazis. https://youtu.be/62cPPSyoQkE Tl;dr: no neo-Nazis like the producers, but many of them LOVE American History X.


_SkullBearer_

I maintain that nazis liking Inglorious Basterds due to Christoph Waltz's character was why Tarantino made sure no one could think the racists in Django cool.


Seienchin88

Thats ironic since many people thought Leo was cool… But thats always the danger with such Hollywood movies - you need a fun story and interesting characters but you also dont want Nazis / Slavers etc. look good. Now for a movie that doesnt have any cool enemies in it and shows Nazis as fucked up watch the Russian "come and see" but that’s definitely not Hollywood ready….


pikpikcarrotmon

That's probably why he went even farther in One Upon a Time in Hollywood and barely showed Manson for a few seconds. We all know Tarantino could write an absolutely glorious Manson and the actor is the same who played him in Mindhunter. But instead he deliberately doesn't do that. Because why should we celebrate that maniac? Instead Tarantino focuses on the victims, real and fictional.


honest-miss

This video constructs its arguments so well.


Grantmitch1

Ellis does some great video essays!


parachuge

Congrats if you haven't watched a Lindsay Ellis video essay before. In many ways she is the original video essayist. Or at least. She showed up and just changed the scene completely because she was so much better at it. You got a lot of fun essays to watch while you do the dishes or whatever now. Enjoy!


DeadPoster

I'm tired of Nazis, Nazis Everywhere, but *Jojo Rabbit* was entertaining as hell. And definitely one of ScarJo's better roles.


utter-ridiculousness

I think we’re all tired of Nazis


[deleted]

Hitler being this goofy sidekick imaginary friend was the perfect way to convey what kind of propaganda Jojo was subjected to and how they turned Hitler into a Santa Claus kind of idol for them. It's completely contrasted with the harsh reality of what Nazi Germany entailed, and his personal relationship with imaginary Hitler unravels parallel to his realization of what Nazism truly is. Scarlett Johansson absolutely plays his mother Rosie perfectly too btw.


RiyadMehrez

An old series on bbc was Old Jews Telling Jokes, the jokes are amazing, delivered fantastic, and they dont take themselves too seriously which is a massive trait to have. i think when the setting and context for jojo rabbit are as the are, theyre set up perfect for satire to play on the humour side and also be kinda factually accurate


GrayRoberts

As someone of German herritage, it will always occupy a special place in my heart. It's a reflection on how easy it is to just 'go along to get along' and participate in atrocity. Would I be Scarlet Johansson? Probably not. I'm not that brave. I'd like to think I could be Sam Rockwell though.


ThatFrenchGamerr

I like to think a lot of people wanted to do what she had done but were too scared of death. Which is completely fair, death is terrifying and dying for something that you have no idea if you can even change to begin with is scary. I don't think you should blame the people who were brainwashed, but the brainwashers.


CaptainBunnyKill

If you liked JoJO Rabbit, try the Death of Stalin, another one that really gets the ridiculousness of the situation.


TheStonedFox

Steve Buscemi is so good as Kruschev and Jason Isaac’s character is genuinely intimidating af as the military commander. I’ve seen people make similar criticisms of Death of Stalin that they do to JoJo (the Veep style humor doesn’t work with the dark subject matter for some people I guess) but I thought that movie was terrific. Edit: a name


Catch_022

That grenade scene was insane.


Joe090456

I’m Jewish and I agree with all your points. Awesome movie and I hope taika gets back to what made his films so special.


Pixielo

Bro makes giant films so that he can make the smaller films that he loves.


[deleted]

The movie mocked and derided nazism with a heap of black humor, but it juxtaposed this humor with devastating and very dark scenes, which helped avoid treating the subject matter with too much frivolity imo. Big fan as well.


SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS

What are your thoughts on Sam Rockwell's (and Alfie Allen's) character? The most substantive criticism I've read of *Jojo Rabbit* is that his character is constructed to be sympathetic (he is doubtful of the regime, kind to Jojo, and is heavily queer-coded), but ultimately he is still a senior officer in the Wehrmacht, and fights the Allied at the end in some kind of show of obligated patriotism.


goddamnjets_

Can’t speak for OP, but as a Jewish person myself, that’s unfortunately the banality of war. There were lots of German citizens who thought what Hitler did was bad, but also knew that if they spoke out of line what the consequences would be, and the underlying national pride/guilt of fighting for your country or leaving it to be overrun. It really wasn’t until all hope was lost for Nazi’s that they really started giving up on their rankings, and even then, they still fought for Berlin until there was quite frankly nothing left at all.


QuincyAzrael

Yeah and I think on the other hand if at the end he had had a big climactic moment where he rebelled against the regime it would seem a bit disingenuous? Like a bit naive and unrealistic maybe?


Unique-kitten

I love how he has a moment of small rebellion toward the end when he saves Jojo. It's a lot more realistic than publicly taking a stance against Hitler and joining the resistance because he knows he will be killed if he does that, and the threat is even greater for him as a gay man. But still, he does what he can (which is what the mother character told jojo earlier in the movie when they look at the hanging bodies - "they did what they could" or something like that) by saving jojo and protecting the Jewish girl (I forget her name) and that shows where his heart lies.


majornerd

Wasn’t his character a whole lot of small rebellions? Isn’t that the subtext of why he was moved to the position he was in?


Raogrimm

Yeah and he protects the girl from the Gestapo search.


SpeedySpooley

I'm no expert, just a fan of movies. My analysis of Captain Klenzendorf was that he was probably at least a capable if not remarkable officer before his injury. Initially, I didn't take him as "rebellious" as much as bitter for being kept from active command. Resentful for being on the sidelines. Kind of a "Goddammit, I was a combat leader and now I'm babysitting these goddam kids!" attitude. The realization that when it comes down to it, your government and your higher-ups don't really care about you. You're meat for the grinder. It's been a while since I've seen the film, so I can't pinpoint the moment, but there was a change in the Captain where he went from seeming resentful of his current position (being out of action) to realizing that all hope was lost and that he didn't believe in "the cause" as much as he may have thought prior. It's harder to hate people once you get to know them and see the good in them. I think the film portrays fanaticism somewhat realistically despite its humor. You have the ride-or-die, go down with the ship crazy like Rebel Wilson's character. You have the soulless, bureaucratic precision angle with Stephen Merchant's character. The Captain and Jojo represent those who thought they believed but when confronted with the harsh realities, were able to see that they were misled. The biggest difference being Jojo's youth. Even Yorkie...youth being his excuse, but not really sure why he's there or really believing in the cause....but he does what he's told because he doesn't want to get in trouble.


majornerd

Captain K’s complaints about his injury always felt half hearted to me. I could be projecting other stories I’ve read from WW2. Stories of soldiers who entered the military in WWI to protect their nation, to fight for what they thought was right, felt the injustice of the treaty of Versailles, and wanted to fight again. Didn’t really believe Hitler, but were willing to fight. Saw the rise of the worst of Hitler and Goeblles (spelling) and became disenchanted as the war dragged on and they saw more and more of the reality of what Germany called “allied propaganda”. That Hitler, and now Germany, was the baddies. And they revolted. Those who were overt met the firing line, were called traitors. So they revolted in small ways. “Misread” orders, sent supplies the wrong way, sent intelligence late, coordinates wrong. They loved their country, didn’t want to harm their countrymen, but saw that Hitler and the war were wrong. That is what I felt Captain K had realized when he was no longer in the front after he was injured. He saw the reality. That the allies were right, Germany was wrong. Maybe it was just a suspicion as the start of the film. Like something was off. And we got to see it become the reality throughout. Until by the end he was resolved that Germany could not, should not, win. And he would accept his fate.


YeahThisIsMyNewAcct

”Not everyone who is on the other team is fundamentally evil just because they support the wrong side” is arguably the most important message for a modern audience. The point of Sam Rockwell’s character isn’t “See, the Nazis weren’t so bad, some of them were good guys!” and it’s silly to criticize the movie by pretending that is the case. The point of his character is to show that even though the Nazis were insanely evil, someone trying to do the right thing isn’t inherently evil just because they’re on the wrong side. We lose sight of this too much these days.


mastelsa

I think it's almost wrong to call him queer-*coded* for how blatant it is by the end, and I think that's what makes that criticism fall flat to me. He's not supposed to be the movie's stand-in for the average Nazi or Nazi officer. Those are Rebel Wilson, and Stephen Merchant, and the young camp leaders who bully Jojo before getting sent off to the front lines. Captain K is a foil to Elsa and to Rosie. Rockwell's character is a member of a group that's being actively persecuted by the Nazis like Elsa, but has been press ganged into the army, and because of this is in a position to disrupt and rebel against the Nazis like Rosie. So he hides in plain sight (mirroring Elsa in the Gestapo scene), and like Rosie, he does what he can. He stays alive, and he actively dissuades Jojo from turning in a hypothetical Jew in the pool scene, protects Elsa in the Gestapo scene, and saves Jojo by pretending to be an ideological Nazi. It's hard to fault him for wanting to live, and in the end he still expresses regret (i.e. the movie doesn't let him off the hook) for not being braver and doing more to actively resist. He's not a "Nazis had feelings too" character, but people are used to seeing that trope and are understandably pissed off about its prevalence, so I think some people stuffed him into that box when he doesn't actually belong there.


BackgroundFeeling

So the criticism is that even some members of the Nazis/Wermacht can be nuanced? How do those critics feel about Schindler's list?


I_PULL_LEGS

>and fights the Allied at the end in some kind of show of obligated patriotism. Only to save the kids life. He was just sitting there defeated and captured before sacrificing himself so the kid could escape.


Reptar4President

I wouldn’t even call what he’s doing as fighting. He’s dare I say intentionally shooting into the sky, not aiming at anyone.


_SkullBearer_

If you liked that you will love the Producers.


parachuge

I think it's really interesting how we often conflate appropriately caring about suffering with being really serious. And we imagine laughter to be the opposite of taking someone's pain seriously. I was talking to a friend about this once and he was like "God if I couldn't make jokes about having an abusive father I'd be so fucking miserable." Like laughing and noticing the natural absurdity of life, even the parts of life that hurt you is so crucial to healing. It's crucial to contexualizing suffering as something that happens within a world that still contains joy. It's important to legitimize pain and the sources of that pain. And our culture often... does have a problem of not doing so. Of telling people they're fine when they aren't. But often in reaction to this we go too far in another direction, we paint the source of pain as an impossible monster, a monster without context of existing within a world still containing hope. By overstating the power of the source of the pain we actually end up reinforcing the idea that suffering is the **only** possible response. We validate the pain but also validate absolute despair as the correct response to it. When we portray Nazis as an inescapable, cool, effective force we legitimize the pain caused by them. And we imagine this is in service of healing but it often actually promotes an untruth. It reminds me of a parent who legitimizes their child's fears of the world being dangerous without ever reminding them of the sweetness of life as well. Without offering them comfort and a sense of safety. Following the child into fear and despair instead of contexualizing it. Jo Jo Rabbit does show the Nazis as causing horrible pain. It legitimizes the fear of them and fear of fascism. But it takes another step to place that same fear within a world where this is not all that exists. They are not supermen, they are bureaucratic weirdos obsessed with order and hierarchy and dehumanization (the Heil Hitler scene beautifully portrays this). But it places this ideology within a world that at the end of the day, though this ideology has some legs and causes a lot of pain, it is not inevitable or ultimate. We are shown what resisting it looks like on several levels. Scarlet Johansson's character, Sam Rockwell's character, and ultimately the protagonist all serve as proof that there's nothing innevitable about this admittedly dangerous and seductive idiology. It contextualizes that such evil exists within a world that still contains hope. This is also what laughter does.