Jojo Rabbit (5 Stars)

"Jojo Rabbit" is such an evil film that I'm surprised it was ever made. It's a comedy, but so much of it is a portrayal of things that really happened. You need to have a twisted sense of humour to enjoy what's shown. That explains why I like it so much, but it doesn't explain the film's huge box office success.

Johannes Betzler, nicknamed Jojo, is a 10-year-old boy who lives in Germany during the Second World War. Based on the events, it probably starts in autumn 1944 and continues into May 1945. As a blue-eyed Aryan boy he loves the Führer. He's a member of the Hitler Youth and loves going to their outdoor camps. It's just like the boy scouts, except that the boys shout "Heil Hitler".

Another difference is that there are girls at the camps. Jojo is at the age where he's beginning to tell the difference.

One... two... three... all together now! "Heil Hitler!"

Jojo sits next to his best friend Yorki, who doesn't look quite as Aryan. Don't worry about it. Hitler didn't look Aryan either. But what are they listening to so attentively?

The beautiful Fräulein Rahm is showing the children what a Jew looks like. On another occasion she tells the girls that she's had 18 children for Germany. And yet she's still a Fräulein, not a Frau? I wonder if the children were from 18 different men.

Before the children go to bed, they indulge in exciting activities like burning books.

Then comes Jojo's big test of manhood. He's told to pretend that a rabbit is a Jew and snap its neck. He can't do it. Everyone has his limits. He lets the rabbit go, and everyone laughs at him. The camp leaders give him the name Jojo Rabbit, and it sticks.

But there's one thing that makes Jojo special: he has an imaginary friend. It's not just any imaginary friend, it's Adolf Hitler himself. Adolf appears to him and gives him advice on how to be a good Nazi.

I've been told that it's common for young children to have an imaginary friend. It's not a mental illness, it's a normal part of growing up. I can't relate to this, because I personally never had an imaginary friend. Is it normal to speak aloud to the friend, as Jojo does? I don't know. It's something I need to read about.

Jojo's world falls apart when he finds out that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the house. She looks nothing like the Jews described by Fräulein Rahm. She doesn't have horns or fangs. Jojo falls in love with her. His friend Adolf is furious, telling Jojo that Jews have the power to mesmerise their victims.

"Jojo Rabbit" is a comedy. It's a coming-of-age drama. But it's also a picture of what life was like in Nazi Germany. What would I have been like? Would I have been a Nazi? Probably. I've never had to live in a country where I'm subject to propaganda every day. Only a beautiful Jewess could change my ways.

It wasn't just about the society. Hitler himself was overwhelming. Ernst Hanfstaengl said of him, "What Hitler was able to do to a crowd in 2½ hours will never be repeated in 10,000 years. Because of his miraculous throat construction, he was able to create a rhapsody of hysteria". There have been many populists over the centuries, but none as powerful as Adolf Hitler.

Let this scene from the film be a stark warning of the dangers of a Nazi ideology. "Never again!" That's what people say. And yet Russia has become a Fascist country, led by a dictator called Vladimir Putin. He holds speeches against the Nazis in order to hide the fact that he's one himself. He's brainwashed his people to believe that he's only invaded Ukraine to protect Russia from NATO. When we hear them giving interviews they sound stupid, but don't be so fast to criticise them. If I lived in Russia and were subjected to Fascist propaganda 24 hours a day, would I be any different to them? I hope I would, but I can't guarantee it.

Success Rate:  + 4.5

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