Written and directed by Taika Waititi
Adapted from the novel Caging Skies by Christine Leunens
Starring Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie and Scarlett Johansson
MPAA rating: PG-13 for mature thematic content, some disturbing images, violence, and language
Running time: 1 hour and 48 minutes

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

Rosalie and I saw this one at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) though we saw it at different screenings, we had a lot to talk about afterwards. We both knew the basic premise going in, and thought that it could go one of two ways, cringy or fun and silly as hell. Thankfully, it was the latter. In case you don’t know what the story is about, it is set in Nazi Germany and we follow young Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) and Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) a young Jewish woman that Rosie is hiding in their house. The comedy comes from the fact that Jojo is so enamoured with Hitler that he becomes his imaginary friend. When Jojo finds out that his mother is harbouring a Jew, he is obviously upset but doesn’t want to get his mother into trouble. There was a hint of cringiness in this movie but it didn’t ruin the rest of the film for me and it would be spoilery to discuss. So I will not do so until the very bottom of this review.

Honestly, as far as recommendations, there’s not a whole lot more I can say. If you can get down with a movie that uses a buffoon version of Hitler as a gag, over and over, then this movie is great. It’s shot beautifully, the costumes (especially Sam Rockwell’s towards the end) are astounding,  there were solid performances all around, most especially Thomasin McKenzie (who costarred in one of my favorites from last year, the vastly overlooked Leave No Trace) and the characters and story are all well developed. If Hitler gags are just too much for you in this time of Nazis still surrounding us, then you can skip this movie but maybe make a stop at my spoilery complaint at the end to help feel justified in doing so.

I was there in the audience, applauding away when Taika walked out after the screening and we drove him to tears. I was happy to do it. He made a movie, and gave a performance, that reminded me how stupid and small Nazis are. This doesn’t mean we can stop being vigilant against them, but we also can’t let them drag us down into inactivity and unhappiness. 

I think that there’s a fair chance that this will get some Oscar nods, but it all really depends on what comes out between now and the nominations. Speaking with the perspective of more than a month’s time between when I saw this and now, I can say that many of the things that made me love this movie when I saw it are the sort of things that fade quickly over time. The lightness and humor that brought a smile to my face is not the sort of thing you can find a category for when Oscar time comes along. Then again, you never can tell what sort of things the Academy will get up to, but I think this has some potential.

SPOILERY RANT BELOW

So, I’ve got this complaint. It’s about the normalization of/compassion for racist pieces of shit and the role Sam Rockwell seems to be so willing to play in it. In this film, there are, obviously, many shitty situations that occur for just about anyone that is an active Nazi. Sam plays one of these Nazis, Captain Klenzendorf. Now, I understand that many people were forced to be participants in acts that they found vile in order to secure their own safety, as well as the ones they love. I don’t know if I agree with it, and I hope to never have to find out, but none of that was presented here for Klezendorf. Instead, he seemed to delight in the blood of war. However, much like other recent Rockwell portrayals (C.P Ellis in The Best of Enemies, Silas Groves in Woman Walks Ahead and Dixon in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri an argument could even be made for his role as W in Vice) there is a point in this film in which his character decides to swap sides and be helpful without much work done in the story to make the viewer understand why. In the other films it isn’t always to this extreme. Sometimes we just see the characters’ more personable/less destructive side. Perhaps the intent is to show how insidious racism is and racists are, but I never really get that feeling. Instead I feel that these movies are trying to make me have compassion for them, and I just can’t do that. Now I know that Rockwell didn’t write these movies, he just took the job. Maybe he wanted the role, or maybe he’s just making money. I can’t tell you his motivations. What I can tell you is that there are many of his performances that I love, but I’m getting sick of seeing this one over and over.

See it at Philadelphia Film Festival Saturday, October 19th at 6:15pm.