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Jojo Rabbit

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Jojo Rabbit
A propaganda-style poster with Nazi aesthetics. The ensemble characters of the film have cardboard cutout-like borders framing them.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTaika Waititi
Screenplay byTaika Waititi
Based on
Caging Skies
by Christine Leunens
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMihai Mălaimare Jr.
Edited byTom Eagles
Music byMichael Giacchino
Production
companies
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • September 8, 2019 (2019-09-08) (TIFF)
  • October 18, 2019 (2019-10-18) (United States)
  • October 24, 2019 (2019-10-24) (New Zealand)
Running time
108 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Czech Republic
  • New Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Budget$14 million
Box office$93.6 million

Jojo Rabbit is a 2019 satirical comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, adapted from Christine Leunens' 2008 book Caging Skies. Roman Griffin Davis makes his film debut as the title character, Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a ten-year-old Hitler Youth member who finds out that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. He must then question his beliefs while dealing with the intervention of his imaginary friend, a childlike, eccentric version of Adolf Hitler (played by Waititi) with a comedic stance on the politics of the war. The film also stars Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, and Alfie Allen.

Waititi wrote the screenplay in 2011, a year after his mother described the premise of Caging Skies. He rewrote the first draft, which as a rough adaptation of the dark-toned source material did not contain much comedy; it was also in the rewritten version that Adolf's character was included. Waititi recalled the pitching process as exhausting. In 2012, it landed on the Black List, where it remained in a development limbo until several years later when Fox Searchlight Pictures showed interest in it. A tight casting schedule started with principal photography in the Czech Republic in May 2018, finishing two months later. Post-production included adding the visual effects, editing done by Tom Eagles, as well as a score composed by Michael Giacchino.

Jojo Rabbit had its world premiere at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2019, where it won the Grolsch People's Choice Award. It was later released theatrically in the United States on October 18. The film received positive reviews, though critics were divided on its comedic treatment of the subject of Nazism. It was chosen by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the ten best films of the year. Among its numerous accolades, the film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, while also being nominated for five other awards, including Best Picture, at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Plot

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During the latter stages of World War II, in the fictional city of Falkenheim[a], Nazi Germany, ten-year-old Johannes "Jojo" Betzler joins the Deutsches Jungvolk. Heavily indoctrinated by Nazism, he has an imaginary friend named Adolf, a buffoonish version of Adolf Hitler.

The local HJ training camp is run by Captain Klenzendorf, who has grown disillusioned with Nazi politics. Though a fanatic, Jojo is deemed weak and nicknamed "Jojo Rabbit" after his conscience prevents him from killing a rabbit bare-handed. Pepped up by Adolf, he attempts to prove himself by throwing a Stielhandgranate during an exercise, only for it to explode at his feet, severely injuring him. Jojo's mother Rosie insists to the now-demoted Klenzendorf that Jojo still be included, by performing small tasks around town while he recuperates.

Alone at home one day, Jojo discovers Elsa Korr, a teenage Jewish girl and his late sister Inge's former friend, whom Rosie is hiding behind the walls of Inge's attic bedroom. He is both terrified of, and aggressive towards, Elsa. The two are left at an impasse, as Elsa's concealment means the death penalty for all three of them if discovered. Inspired by an offhand rant by Klenzendorf, Jojo continues to interact with Elsa to uncover her "Jew secrets" and make a picture book titled Yoohoo Jew,[b] allowing people to easily recognise her kind. Elsa is both saddened and amused by Jojo's radical beliefs, using surreal antisemitic tropes to challenge his dogmatism. Jojo becomes infatuated with the strong-willed and kind teen, awkwardly forging love letters from her fiancé Nathan, and begins questioning his beliefs, causing Adolf to start acting more like the real Hitler and scold his diminishing nationalism.

Rosie is secretly part of the German resistance to Nazism, spreading anti-Nazi messages around town.[c] The Gestapo come to investigate when she is away, and Klenzendorf helps deceive them about Elsa's identity. Later, Jojo finds Rosie has been hanged at the gallows in the public square, having been caught spreading the messages. Devastated, he tries to stab Elsa before breaking down in tears. She comforts him and reveals Jojo's lost father has been working against Hitler from abroad. Jojo's beliefs on Nazism quickly shift as he sees the regime's inhumanity. With no money, Jojo scavenges food for them both from waste bins around the city over the next few months.

Following the death of the real Hitler, Allied troops threaten to take Falkenheim by force.[d] The civilian population and Jungvolk are pressed into combat service. Jojo hides until the battle ends with an Allied victory. As a Jungvolk, Jojo is seized by the Soviet Red Army alongside Klenzendorf, who comforts him over the death of Rosie, tells him to look after Elsa, and tears off his Jungvolk coat while calling him a Jew so the Soviets do not harm him. Jojo escapes and runs home as Klenzendorf is executed by firing squad.

Fearing that Elsa will leave him, Jojo tells her Germany won the war, then forges a letter from Nathan claiming that he and Jojo know how to smuggle her to Paris. Elsa confesses that Nathan died of tuberculosis the previous year. Jojo tells Elsa he loves her and she replies she loves him as a brother. Adolf, now dishevelled and bearing a gunshot wound to the head, tries using Elsa's rejection of romance to lure Jojo back into Nazism, but the latter erases him by kicking him out of a window. Elsa sees American soldiers in the street outside and slaps Jojo for lying, but he accepts responsibility, and they dance to celebrate their freedom.

Cast

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Production

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Development and writing

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I'[ve] seen film adaptations so faithful to the book that they somehow ended up unfaithful in essence, despite the well-meaning intentions. [A] book doesn't go directly from the book to the screen; it goes page to page. Taika's script had much to take from the book, yet it also had to escape it in order to come fully to life in its own medium. A reader spends a comparatively long time in there on his or her own, days or even weeks, in the dense chrysalis of prose, experiencing the emotions of the story while oblivious to the world.

— Leunens on Jojo Rabbit being an adaptation of Caging Skies[3]

Waititi had the idea for Jojo Rabbit in 2010, when his mother,[4] Robin Cohen,[5] introduced him to Christine Leunens' 2008 novel Caging Skies. Bored with generic World War II stories that were told through the perspectives of soldiers and survivors,[4] and aided by the background of his grandfather once fighting against the Nazis,[2]: 3  he decided to adapt the novel. The taboo subject matter did not prevent him from pursuing the project: he looked at it as a motivation and thought of it as a challenge to be bold in filmmaking. He also considered the film a "love letter to all mothers", with a loving mother character present in the film.[4] Waititi compared the premise of the screenplay with the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats, which portrays violence through the fantastical lens of a child: "In a lot of ways I wanted to keep some sort of innocence around that stuff."[6] A juvenile lens also meant an honest depiction of Nazism for Waititi: "Children, they don't fuck around. They will straight-up say to you, 'You are ugly.' Or, 'You are a bad dad,' or 'you betrayed me.' Some of it makes no sense, but at least they're being honest about their feelings."[7] Another inspiration came from reading that 66% of American millennials had never heard of or had no knowledge of the Auschwitz concentration camp; with Jojo Rabbit, he hoped the memories of the victims would remain forever and that conversations about the topic would not stop.[8]

Shortly after Waititi had the idea for the adaptation, he sent an email to Leunens,[3] and the screenplay was written in 2011.[9] Waititi thought it was good timing, with various prejudices and extremism on the rise at the time. He insisted that slapstick was a fine way of telling a story with dark themes like World War II: "The world needs ridiculous films, because the world is ridiculous."[10] The first draft did not contain Hitler, but Waititi rewrote the whole thing again shortly thereafter; the first draft lacked comedy, due to it being a rough adaptation from Caging Skies, which Waititi described as a complete drama. Waititi decided not to make Jojo Rabbit a "straight-out drama" as it would make the film cliché: he instead used humor to build the narrative, then introduced drama to shock the audience. Some of the characters' names were taken from Waititi's friends, he noted.[2]: 6–9 [11][12] Leunens described it as faithful to the source material, yet original, comparing it to the painting Guernica.[3] Cohen praised the creation of Adolf and the cartoonish depiction of Nazis.[5] Badlands (1973) was an inspiration for the relationship between Jojo and Elsa,[6] while Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) inspired Rosie's character. Colorized documentaries such as World War II in Colour (2008–2009) helped Waititi "to get a sense of how things really looked": colorful and vibrant. Regarding storyboards, Waititi instructed artist Andrej Kostic[2]: 8, 42  only if the scene had a number of actors;[13] this includes the final battle scene.[12]

The premise of the film meant difficulty in garnering interest from the film industry.[12] Waititi stated that he did not do pitches: "I just sent the script out and let that do the talking. It's very hard to start a conversation with, 'It's about a little boy in the Hitler Youth.' [...] And then when I say, 'Oh, but don't worry, it's got humor in it,' it just gets worse."[14] Nearly losing hope, he initially thought of just producing it independently in New Zealand.[15] The project gained attention when it landed on the Black List of top unproduced screenplays in 2012.[12] In February of that year at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, CineMart showed interest in the script.[16] Despite this, the film remained in development limbo; Waititi went on with other projects like What We Do in the Shadows (2014) and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). While Waititi's film Thor: Ragnarok (2017) began production, Fox Searchlight Pictures showed interest in Jojo Rabbit after searching for "more auteur-driven movies with challenging concepts."[12] Contrary to popular belief that Ragnarok sparked interest in Waititi, Searchlight looked at his earlier works, such as Boy (2010).[12] TSG Entertainment later joined the project with a budget of $14 million, $800,000 of which was directed towards the art department. In total, pre-production took two months.[1]

Waititi initially wanted to film Jojo Rabbit in Berlin, a place with which he had a deep connection, with financing from Studio Babelsberg. However, due to human rights and filming restrictions in Germany, with minors only able to work three hours a day, he decided to move filming to the Czech Republic.[1] Babelsberg was credited with assisting development alongside the New Zealand Film Commission. The Czech Film Fund was credited for giving the film's crew production incentives. Production services throughout filming were provided by Czech Anglo Productions.[2]: 50, 57–58  Waititi-affiliated Defender Films and