Acclaimed dark comedy Jojo Rabbit has won the influential People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. This has been an important victory. Indeed, the Grolsch People’s Choice Award presented by the TIFF has always been considered as a launch pad for the Academy Award nominations race. The film is set for release on October 18.
The film tells the story of a young boy Jojo “Rabbit” Betzler who has an imaginary friend, played satirically by Adolf Hitler. The story takes a turn when Jojo discovers that his mother hides a Jewish girl in their home, with whom he becomes friend. At that point, he will have to discuss the blind fanaticization of ethnic nationalism of those years and challenge the main beliefs of the society in which he lives.
Reviews and critiques of the film have been mixed as they have had to deal with a delicate subject that is not easy to talk about satirically. But this was the intention of the director, who wanted to draw attention to how ignorance and arrogance must be attacked with a critical way of thinking.
As its director Taika Waititi said “Jojo Rabbit is a story of tolerance and understanding set in a time that lacked both, and I hope in making this film we can remind ourselves that it’s still possible to connect with each other even under the most chaotic of circumstances—no matter what age, religion, race or gender.”
Watch the trailer here:
#Peace.Love.JojoRabbit
