This week we got our first look at Taika Waititi’s latest project, Jojo Rabbit. It’s… well… “amazing” barely covers it. Let’s take a look:
According to studio Fox Searchlight, Jojo Rabbit is:
Waititi has experience directing comedies about murderous, bloodsucking monsters. In an era when a lot of people bemoan the fact that we can’t make “those” types of movies anymore, it appears Waititi is proving the comedy axiom, “You can say whatever you want, as long as it’s funny”.
If the Nazi stuff wasn’t enough to let you know this movie wouldn’t pull any punches, the first few seconds of the trailer show a child (accidentally) throwing a knife into the leg of another child. It’s clear that the movie will center around a member of the Hitler Youth.
In the 1930s, the Nazi regime abolished the Boy Scouts in Germany and required all children to take part in a similar organization called the “Hitler Youth.” They adopted similar uniforms to the Boy Scouts and did similar activities, with the one small difference that they required their members to give themselves to Adolf Hitler himself “body and soul.” One of the most common and telling tactics of fascists is to require oaths of personal allegiance to a leader, and the Hitler Youth got them young (notice it wasn’t called “Nazi Youth” or “German Youth”).
The movie will star writer/director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, What We Do In The Shadows), Scarlett Johansson (Avengers, Ghost in the Shell), Sam Rockwell (Moon, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids), Stephen Merchant (Logan, Fighting With My Family), and Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones, John Wick). The Cinematographer is Mihai Malaimare Jr., who also worked on the visually stunning The Master. It will hit theaters October 18th.
