Very nice humor. Highlights what evil the Nazis are.

One of the engaging, hilarious, yet heart-wrenching Nazi dramas and an irresistible manga-like story.

Great movie that takes on Nazism in a humorous way.

Ostensibly, a comedic coming-of-age story staged during the downfall of WWII Nazi Germany, as experienced by a burgeoning fanatic Hitler Youth named Jojo. I ended my viewing overly emotional, which was difficult because I found it hard to understand why. I offer five stars on my presumption of understanding. A few well-suited pop songs always pull my strings, and I assume screenwriters thought the book was too dark to present an effective message.

Jojo’s evolution from impressionable imaginative child to aware adolescent is told through many storylines. While failing as a Nazi in practice, he acknowledges his attraction to girls, stands up to his father figure, experiences loss and grief, sees intellectually that all is not as it seems with his fellow Germans, and accepts his occasional childish regression in light of the inconceivable. The telling is not entirely through his eyes, though, so we face the differences between our adult perspectives and his in a variety of scenes. Jojo’s path eventually reaches a painfully obvious climax where he must abandon his old ways or die preserving them in the face of infinite opposing forces.

The advertised imaginary friend Hitler was only the embodiment of Nazism to grow out of, a spectre of childhood, and our protagonist’s best buddy was occasionally there to state the obvious, grounding our hero near moments of digesting his confusion. A notable role was Fräulein Rahm, who made only brief appearances for comedic relief when Nazi fanaticism reached untenable peaks. How better to highlight the surreal brainwashing of children, to send to war, if not by mocking it?

The movie ends with an on screen verse to explain it, and hopefully I got it, that we are stronger than we think and can survive emotional turmoil to carry on. I suppose Nazism needed a war to prove to all the world how wrong it was, and I’ve read that many Hitler Youth needed years to let go of their beliefs. The separation of Hitler Youth from their parents was a great enabler.

Absolutely serendipitous was my timing, watching Jojo on the cusp of Biden’s inauguration, and always too soon after David Bowie’s death.

A clever way to educate and make light of ugly history without being depressing. Tips on how to deal with bullying ... become the rabit. Taika must be a strange yet very creative person - much of his work is unique in a good way. Poignant poem at the end.

A mystifying mix of fantasy, fear and silliness. Goosebump-inducing.
I thought "Can we laugh at Hitler?", but I did, the big baby baffoon!
Captivating from start to end (where a German-sung Bowie track closes) with heart -wrenchingly good acting.
Scarlett Johannson has a break-out performance, but not to outshine her much younger counterparts.
One of my favourite moves of the last few years, hands down.

The movie portrays a 10 year old boy in the waning period of Nazi Germany. It illustrates how indoctrination worked on him, but events make him uncomfortable with it.

Wonderful adaptation by Taika Waititi of Christine Leunen's book, "Caging Skies" of a German boy's coming of age during the time of the downfall of Adolph Hitler. Roman Davis is quite believable as a "Hitler Youth" wannabe who confronts the realities of Nazism and the brave, noble efforts of those who defy it. Scarlett Johannson plays his traitorist mother who hides a Jewish girl in her attic. Sam Rockwell plays a jaded German captain of the army who's left to run a camp for the Hitler Youth because of injuries he blames on German incompetence. He later gives up his life to save Jojo. And Taika himself plays a clownish Hitler, who incites all the protagonists' resentment. The ironic thing is all the dialogue is in English while all the pop tunes are in German.
P.S. We see the imbecilic rhetoric of the deluded masses blindly adoring a cult leader and their resultant fall from reality. Now, where do I see that today?

We really enjoyed this movie, though it was hardly a laugh out loud sort of comedy (though there are a few moments like that). It's a comedy in the classic sense of a happy ending (or the promise of one). There are some poignant moments and, as a warning, I remember when language like this got The Blues Brothers an R rating. Oh, well. The acting and the satire was superb, though I wonder how much of the satire would need to be explained to a young teen. That's OK, that's what parents are for ;-)

I wasn't expecting much except a silly farce. It is that and more. The film is fun to watch with it's many silly characters including an imaginary Hitler. Sam Rockwell gives a wonderful performance as a not-to-dedicated Nazi. Stephen James Merchant is only on screen for a few minutes as a more dedicated Nazi, but he delivers quite a punch. Scarlett Johansson is delightful as Jojo's mother. She recognizes the difficulty of life in Nazi Germany and how to best raise her idealistic young son so that they can survive it and still have some integrity in tact. Rebel Wilson makes an appearance as an over-the-top Nazi matron trying to keep the youth in check. I can't say much about the story without giving much away. Suffice to say, it has more to say than just "Nazis are bad." It is ultimately a heart-felt film with a message of what it means to be joyful. As Bowie might say / sing "Und wir sind dann Helden..."