Taika Waititi is a busy man. He directed an episode of The Mandalorian. He’s going to write or produce or “crack” an animated Flash Gordon project. Days ago, at the San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that Thor: Love and Thunder is next on his plate. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll get around to the Akira adaptation, that’s now been indefinitely put “on hold” (thanks Marvel). At some point he’ll sleep or just spontaneously combust in a director’s chair. Before for all those though, he has Jojo Rabbit. The surreal satire feature that’s been in the works for a while and is set to premiere at the Toronto International film festival. A trailer for the film dropped earlier today and it’s something you must see to believe.
Here’s the official synopsis, to help decipher things for you, just a smidge:
“JOJO RABBIT, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as JoJo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.”
As short as that trailer is, it’s a blast. Waititi appears to be in fine form here, meshing the fantastical visual vibrancy of Thor: Ragnarok, with the hi-jinks of The Hunt For the Wilderpeople. Maybe with a manic dash of Wes Anderson, though that could be that it’s a Fox Searchlight trailer. Any way you slice it, this looks fantastic. A film that’s likely to ruffle a few feather along the way. Yet what good is satire, if it doesn’t elicit a few cries from dissenters? There’s a rather whimsical and goofy tone to the footage, which makes the possibility of a strong central message all the better. Outside the plot, this one has a rather solid supporting cast in Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen and the always brilliant Sam Rockwell.
What did you think of the trailer? Have you read the book by Christine Leunens? Are you big fans of satire, in general? Did you have a historical figure as your imaginary friend growing up? If that’s the case, be sure to let us know in the comments. We love a good story. While films like this usually get saved for December, but thankfully Jojo Rabbit rolls out sooner, on October 18, 2019.
