I don't really know what the intention was of the filmmakers. Nor am I going to join the chorus of those calling it satire because it wasn't funny. As for self-disclosure of my own biases, count me among those who don't think WWII was a laugh riot. The establishing first thirty minutes of the movie are fine but after that it quickly turns very boring, the narrative meanders and the film quickly runs out of steam. Given the horrendous historical period in which the film is set, the middle part of the movie doesn't make any meaningful statement or give any purpose to the antics we are watching. Cute and childish seemed to be the order of the day with public lynching, sadism, racism, and unlimited human suffering thrown in as mere set decoration. The abrupt tonal changes from cute to fantasy to manic to tragic made for a jarring and flat experience. These mood shifts were always accompanied by appropriate music signalling to the audience which emotion they were now supposed to dial in. I hate that kind of emotional manipulation from a director. Here it is clearly done to help the director tell their story because the film is failing to deliver on any coherent emotional or narrative level. To end the film with a quote from Rilke - "no feeling is final" - is a poor, unearned grasp at significance after almost two hours of mediocre film making. I have no idea why this film garnered the attention and writing awards that it did.