There are comedies and satires that push boundaries, and movies that draw controversy for their depiction of serious issues. Jojo Rabbit manages to be just that in an era of increasing sensitivity. The movie follows Jojo, a 10-year-old boy living in Nazi Germany and is obsessed with becoming a Nazi soldier as he learns to question the ideology after he meets a Jewish girl his mother has been hiding. If there is one thing this movie had to get right, it's that Jojo's development needs to be convincing. It works. His change in character feels legitimate and earned, and his transition is fully convincing. The relationships he builds with Elsa, the Jewish girl, and his own mother are beautifully handled, and are among the films' highlights.

The depiction of the Nazis as flamboyant buffoons was controversial for supposedly downplaying the atrocities they committed. This criticism ignores the nature of satire itself. The Nazis are the butt of the joke, not the people who died as a result of their actions. If it were the other way around, it would be a problem. That being said, this movie does have some very funny moments in it, and several that only work given the specific context they occur in. A nice detail is how bright the world is, as it shows how Jojo perceives the world of Nazi Germany, as a bright, cheerful place to live.

While a lot of the criticism this movie has gotten is unwarranted or poorly thought out, but some of it isn't. It can shift between its serious moments and moments of levity too quickly, and the result is jarring. The light and serious moments work well individually, but the transitions between the two are important. And as far as effective satires go, there are those that make a much clearer and stronger case than this. This isn't exactly internet edgelord territory, but it's quite far from The Great Dictator or even The Producers. There are a few moments where the lack of conciseness makes it hard to tell whose side we're supposed to sympathize with. That, and the ending is kind of questionable.

Perhaps the aspect of the movie that has drawn the most attention is Taika Waititi's depiction of Jojo's imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler. Here, the infamous dictator, one of the most evil people to ever live, is over the top, vaguely friendly to Jojo, and even a father figure of sorts, the polar opposite of the man that we know from history. And despite this, it works. The reason why Taika's flamboyant portrayal of Hitler works is because he is not literally Adolf Hitler. He is Jojo's perception of Hitler, of who Hitler is. This also allows us to see Jojo's perspective and character development better. Having grown up in the system surrounded by propaganda, Jojo has come to view Hitler as a close companion and someone to aspire to, which leads to the perception we see here. It also helps his character development, as he personifies the Nazi ideology, meaning that Jojo's disputes with him show how he develops as a character.

If you like this movie, then The Death of Stalin makes a good counterpart to this. It has a very different style of humor (and is more biting, in my opinion), but there's enough common ground with this to make it recommendable.