There’s something irresistible about a movie that flirts with a great taboo – a comedy about the Nazis. Mel Brooks did it with The Producers (1967), in which a Broadway show designed to offend and crash became a smash hit. Roberto Benigni made an attempt with Life is Beautiful (1997), although the humour was swallowed by sentiment. I can barely bring myself to mention the repulsive satire of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009), arguably the worst of his movies.
In Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi gives us the story of a 10-year-old boy living in a German town during the last months of World War II. Johannes (Roman Griffin Davis) – or Jojo, as he’s nicknamed – is an enthusiastic junior Nazi who can hardly wait for the Hitler Youth weekend retreat. He even has the Führer as his very own imaginary friend.
