Jojo Rabbit's creator Taika Waititi is quickly becoming one of my favourite directors ever, and this film has only increased my appreciation. He manages to tinge everything he works on with humour, even when it comes to the difficult subject of Hitler, which is what this film is all about. Hysterical, bizarre and heartbreaking, Jojo Rabbit is an incredible watch.

Set in Germany during World War II, we get a vivid demonstration of how powerful nationalist brainwashing can be on young minds as we follow 10-year-old Jojo on his adventures as part of the Hitler Youth. Symbolising this deep belief in Nazi ideology is Jojo’s imaginary friend, Hitler himself— although this is a ridiculous and child-like version of him.

Jojo is forced to tackle his extreme and mindless hate for the Jews once he discovers that his mother is sheltering a Jewish girl named Elsa in their home, and that he must get involved with her survival.

Jojo Rabbit is a strange and conflicting film. At times you can feel uncomfortable laughing along with the jokes about Hitler, but I don’t believe this film is poking fun at the atrocities of the Holocaust. I think Waititi is trying to give Hitler the middle finger here by making them incompetent caricatures. They are portrayed as something their real selves would roll over in their graves about, which makes it pretty ideal.

This is best conveyed through our on-screen Hitler played by Waititi himself, a native New Zealander with Jewish heritage who describes himself as a ‘Polynesian Jew’. If that alone doesn’t sound like something Aryan-obsessed Hitler would despise, Waititi also prided himself on doing minimal research for the role. Waititi gives no grace or consideration to the Nazis, proving that this isn’t about mocking those who suffered but not giving effort to those who don’t deserve it.

I’ve really enjoyed rewatching Jojo Rabbit too as I found myself catching more hilarious jokes that I didn’t get the first time around. Revolutionary? Probably not, but it is an entertaining film nonetheless.

One of the shining parts of this film is its comedic writing. Its ability to make me genuinely laugh out loud was one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much. A stand-out part to me includes Hitler's continuous offering of cigarettes to 10-year-old Jojo. Although, almost all of imaginary-friend-Hitler parts were great. Also, Jojo's friend Yorki shined as a character and actor. I definitely found the comedy helped relieve the sadder parts of the film.

I always love foreshadowing, and in Jojo Rabbit, I think the repeated emphasis on shoes (particularly in relation to Jojo’s mother Rosie) was a great build-up to one of the most harrowing parts of the film. Some of the best omens of this are when Rosie ties Jojo’s shoes or when the shot lingers on her own feet. This culminates in Jojo discovering his mother's hanging body as she is murdered for her crime of being a traitor to Nazi Germany. I think the use of shoes is used because the film is from the perspective of a child and their line of sight matches up with the swinging feet of the traitor’s bodies. This makes for a powerful motif and a poignant scene.

Speaking of tragic scenes, Captain Klenzendorf's death was particularly tough. His calm voice that helped soothe the terrified Jojo during the capturing of their town by the Americans paired with his protection of Jojo added layers to his character. I found him cold throughout the film, but his final act was very emotional and made him much more interesting.

Now is a good time for Jojo Rabbit as it coincides with the current rise of neo-nazis and white supremacists. It feels a bit ridiculous that even after 85+ years we still have to prove to some that non-white people deserve to live. It's scary that people believe, now in this day and age, that Hitler was right. I think this film helps to ostracize that belief by making a mockery out of the Nazis, not allowing them to be something to live up to.

For all its sad moments, the film ends on a promising note as Elsa is free to dance in the streets, and even better that it’s to the awesome tune of David Bowie in German. I think that in the face of atrocities like the ones of the holocaust, hope is all you have left.

The film ends with a quote from the poet Rilke. It offers a beautiful sentiment of hope I’ve taken with me…

'Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.'