2019’s Jewish International Film Festival, held at Classic, Lido, Cameo and Ritz cinemas, has a strong documentary focus this year, telling stories of great Jewish creatives and innovators who have shaped our world and culture. To single out just a few, Sundance hit Ask Dr Ruth is a frank, warm portrait of revolutionary sex therapist Dr Ruth Westheimer, whereas Love, Antosha looks at the tragically short life and work of young actor Anton Yelchin.
Amongst other docos covering jazz record labels, Leonard Cohen, and the rise and fall of a swimwear empire, the festival includes one highly anticipated movie that’s a bit less firmly rooted in history: Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, an ‘anti-hate satire’ which premiered at Toronto only a month ago. Chosen as the festival’s closing night film, Jojo Rabbit looks to be a complicated melange of juvenile comedy and coming-of-age drama, all set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany. And cinemagoers in Melbourne and Sydney can check it out a full month before the film’s official release in December!
Described as an ‘anti-hate satire’, the film follows a lonely Nazi Youth brat whose world is turned upside down when he discovers that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish refugee (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home’s attic. The thing is, Jojo is a devoted little German soldier – his imaginary friend is a goofy, Bugs Bunny-esque version of Adolf Hitler (Waititi again) – and it’ll take a complete reversal of his blind patriotism for him to see the light.
Read the article by Eliza Janssen on Flicks.com.au