How should the plot of the Nazi persecution of the Jews be innovated? This theme has been as widespread as China's anti-Japanese drama, not to mention that there are already many pearls in the front, such as Spielberg's "Schindler's List", and Roberto Bernini's "Beautiful Life", which was re-screened in China on January 3 after high-definition restoration, but "Jojo Rabbit" has not fallen into the cliché, it has received multiple nominations including the 92nd Academy Award for Best Picture, and won the Oscar award for Best Screenplay Adaptation.
The soul of the film is undoubtedly The Taiga Viditti, who directed, wrote, edited and starred in the film, who is talented and good at comedy and subversion; the young filmmaker from New Zealand became famous very early, and his early representative works include "Maori Boy" (written and directed by him), which broke new Zealand's highest box office record, and the cult film "Vampire Life" (written, directed and starred by him); but what really made him famous was "Thor 3", which subverted the style. The game grossed the highest grossing $853 million in the series, and also reflects his ability as a director to control commercial blockbuster films.
2019's Jojo Rabbit (aka Jojo's Whimsical World) proves that the Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II can also be filmed with fun, while not lacking in emotional depth. How this film seeks breakthroughs in the same genre, and how it uses repetitive montages to portray characters and deepen the theme, as well as its characteristics in the language of the lens, this is what we should focus on in this film review.
The reason why the film was recognized by the Oscar jury in terms of adapting the script was due to the addition of the 10-year-old boy Jojo. Batesle's image of Hitler is vividly shaped, a hitler who has changed the evil or funny screen stereotypes of the past, and he has been friends with Jojo in life, and sometimes even replaced his absent father to comfort Jojo, but this does not change the fact that under the influence of Hitler's fanatical thoughts, Jojo was almost killed.
Captain Krensendorf is showing teenagers how to throw grenades, jojo, "inspired" by his imaginary mentor Hitler, snatches the grenade from the captain's hand, and then he foolishly rushes out of the trench to throw it, but the grenade bounces back from the tree and explodes at his feet, and Jojo almost dies.
Jojo was just a microcosm of the millions of teenagers in Germany at that time, Hitler liked to control the youth with fanatical thoughts, as early as April 1933, when he had only been in power for three months, he gathered German teenagers between the ages of 10 and 18, the German government set up youth clubs, boys joined Hitler's Youth Army, girls joined the German girls' union; the German government stipulated that parents had no right to prevent their children from participating in such activities, and the government declared: Children are the property of the German people, They were only temporarily seconded by you.
The film can be said to be a struggle between Rosie and "Hitler" in a way, who can finally pull Jojo to his side? Hitler enslaves people's minds in a brainwashed way, while Rosie uses love and tolerance to guide Jojo step by step closer to the truth.
When the news of the Allied occupation of Italy reached Germany, the mother Rosie happily celebrated at the table, but the son Jojo angrily regarded his mother as an "enemy", and the mother did not lose her mind, she advocated that "the table should be Swiss", so there should be a "truce".
Faced with his mother's incomprehension, Jojo said that he missed his father, so Rosie put on her husband's military uniform, she drew a beard on herself with soot from the fireplace, and then "he" angrily warned his son that "you should not talk to your mother like this", and then she imitated her husband's voice to apologize to his son, and finally in order to alleviate the awkward atmosphere, she released music and danced with his son. How harmful the fanatical Nazi ideology is, the mother prefers to let the son one day be able to judge for himself; the person with ulterior motives will control the thoughts of another person, and love is to protect and give freedom to the person who loves.
In the end, Jojo and the Jewish girl Elsa became good friends, he understood how ridiculous the Nazi idea of "demonizing" the Jews was, and after he witnessed the bloodshed and death on the battlefield, he also understood the stupidity and cruelty of the war, so he kicked his fantasy "Hitler" and shouted: "Get out, Hitler." This symbolizes that Jojo has grown up and has his own judgment, that he is completely freed from Hitler's mind control, and that his mother Rosie is victorious.
Repetitive montage is a structure, which is equivalent to the repetition or repetition method in literature, and the lens with a certain meaning appears repeatedly at key moments to achieve the purpose of portraying characters and deepening the theme.
Tie your laces - Jojo's growth
Before Jojo went out for the first time after his recovery, his mother helped him tie his shoelaces, which showed that the boy was more dependent on adults.
When the mother and son went out on an outing, Jojo's shoelaces were opened, and his mother helped him tie his shoelaces again, but this time the mother came to a "prank", she tied Jojo's two shoes together, Jojo just wanted to take the first step and fell to the ground, which shows that the mother hopes that he can be independent as soon as possible, and the mother cannot help him tie the shoelaces all the time.
Nice shoes - people who symbolize freedom
When Jojo was undergoing leg treatment in the nursing home, he was lying on the bed and looked at his mother's beautiful red and white shoes, which were a close-up of the middle scene.
Then the camera zooms out into a panoramic shot with Jojo injured in the middle of the shot, a young man who has lost his calf on the far left, next to a slow-moving old man, only his mother Rosie is agile and wears a pair of beautiful red shoes, which symbolize freedom in this contrasting picture.
Also in the scene of the mother-son outing, there is a close-up of Jojo looking at his mother's shoes again, and this gap in the picture implies an unequal exchange of ideas, the mother says "to tell God with dance, we are grateful to be born as human beings", Jojo thinks that "only people who have nothing to do can dance", he is full of crazy ideas that the Nazis are about to "rule the world", and the mother hopes that "the 10-year-old child should not discuss war and politics, he should climb trees", But just as in the picture at this time, Jojo only sees his mother's shoes, he can't understand his mother's words, he doesn't understand dance and the meaning of freedom.
Gallows: Deprive human beings of their freedom and force boys to grow up
The gallows appear twice in the movie, the first time when Rosie accompanied her fanatical "little Nazi" son to put up Nazi propaganda posters on the street, she once took her son to stop in front of the gallows, 5 people were hanged on the gallows, they were members of the anti-Nazi organization, when Jojo said "disgusting" and did not want to see, the mother somewhat rudely twisted her son's head to the gallows and said solemnly: "Look." ”
"What did they do?" Jojo asked.
"They did what they could." Mother answered resolutely.
The second time, and the saddest scene in the movie, in a soothing piano song, Jojo chases a butterfly, suddenly the music stops, he turns around and sees his mother's beautiful shoes hanging in mid-air, Rosie as a member of the Nazi resistance was hanged on the gallows by the Gestapo, this moment Jojo looks at his mother's beautiful shoes again, this cruel scene is linked to the same scene that appeared twice before, repeating the montage here to reach an unforgettable climax: the mother can no longer dance, She was forever "deprived of her liberty."
Jojo was very sad, when he found that his mother's shoelaces were not fastened, how much he wanted to help his mother tie the shoelaces, but the shoelaces were half tied but not fastened, he had to hold his mother's calves deadly, this moment he was so helpless and sad in the heavens and the earth, but at the same time this scene implied a cruel truth, people are sometimes "forced" to grow.
The first time Rosie takes Jojo through the gallows, this scene shows her anger and Jojo's ignorance, and the second time she looks at her mother on the gallows from Jojo's point of view, this scene becomes one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the history of cinema, such a cruel crime! It goes without saying that the criticism here points to the Nazis, and the Heinous crimes of the Nazis against humanity.
Tie the jewish girls' shoelaces and dance together
The war was over, and Elsa, the Jewish girl taken in by Rosie, was about to regain her freedom, and Jojo skillfully leaned over to help her tie her shoelaces, which were also a pair of beautiful red and white shoes, which should have been worn by Rosie before she died, and through this act, she made up for Jojo's regret under the gallows, and also symbolized that the little boy had finally grown up.
Jojo and Elsa bathe in the sunshine of the peaceful world, the two of them dance like butterflies, and the free man should use dance to express happiness, and he also understands his mother's saying, "We should use dance to tell God that we are thankful to be born as human beings."
By repeating the structure of montage, the film gives profound meaning and value to ordinary details of life, not only portraying Jojo's growth trajectory, but also deepening the film's love of freedom and the theme of celebrating peace.
A director of Jewish descent who wants to make an "anti-hate" film does not want to amplify the influence of hatred, but proposes that whether it is the horror side of the world or the beautiful side, we must dare to face and accept them, which also constitutes the characteristic of the language of the film lens: beauty and horror coexist.
When Rosie and Jojo dance downstairs and enjoy the fun, the camera turns to Elsa, a Jewish girl hiding in the wall of their house, holding a knife in her hand, and she is hungry under the fence, and she is terrified to survive.
On the way home from an outing with Jojo, Rosie and Jojo were filled with happiness and joy, when suddenly a military vehicle full of wounded and sick passed by, and Rosie greeted the wounded soldiers: "Go home and kiss your mother." ”
After Rosie's identity was exposed, five Gestapo came to Jojo's house to search for the house, on the one hand, the gestapo's small leader was pressing step by step to "talk" from Jojo's mouth to find "evidence of crime", at this time elsa, who was hiding, bravely stood up, she "disguised" as Jojo's sister who died early, helping Jojo "round the lie", while the kind Captain Krensendorf also carefully helped the two children to cover up, and finally the two escaped the disaster.
How terrible and oppressive the five Gestapos were to Jojo, how beautiful elsa's bravery and the kindness of Captain Crensendorff were.
At the end of the war, when the Allied soldiers wanted to imprison or execute Jojo (because he was wearing a Nazi uniform) as a "Nazi", Captain Krensendorf stepped forward at the cost of his life to protect Jojo, he spat at Jojo and called him a "Jew", then the Allied soldiers beat the captain and drove Jojo away, and then the camera switched, and the freed Jojo suddenly heard the sound of machine gun fire, which was a wall of Allied soldiers fighting prisoners. Even when peace comes, beauty and terror still exist at the same time.
The film's lens language records "everything that happens" in the most restrained way possible, the lens language is not emotional and does not criticize, but I believe that each audience will have their own interpretation and judgment, which is also one of the biggest charms of this beautiful and terrifying lens language, which gives the choice and criticism to the audience.
The rabbit in the name of "Jojo Rabbit" has two meanings, a jojo whose mind and body are not yet mature is equivalent to a weak rabbit, he should not blindly throw himself into the war, but first accept everything, sacrifice his life for the country or fight for the faith It is an adult thing, hiding and insisting until the end of the war is what a child should do, just like the place that Jojo who fled around in the war found in the ruins is equivalent to a "rabbit hole".
The second meaning is that the boy will grow up one day, he holds the key, facing the rabbit in the cage, what choice should he make?
After the war, should Jojo take the initiative to embrace freedom with Elsa, or lie to her that "the German Nazis have won" and continue to selfishly "lock" Elsa in a "cage", and finally Jojo makes the right choice, he opens the door, as his mother did to him, "Love is to give freedom to those who love".
This movie tells us that when you are weak, you should know how to protect yourself like a rabbit, and when you are strong, don't forget that you were also a rabbit.
This article was originally written by Light and Shadow Wood Weizhou, and your comments and attention are the biggest motivation for my writing.