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Entertainment Movies

“Jojo Rabbit”: what is new and what is not.

Sam Rockwell, Taika Waititi, Scarlett Johansson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, Rebel Wilson, Thomasin McKenzie, and Roman Griffin Davis in Jojo Rabbit (2019)

this post is spoiler free

“Jojo Rabbit”, the Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay winner, tells the story of a young German boy named Jojo, who finds out his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. This event pushes him to must confront his blind nationalism as World War II continues to rage on with the help of his imaginary friend Hitler. Now if you go around the internet a bit, you’ll find two very different opinions on this movie. Some people and critics claim that it isn’t exactly anything new, while some others claim that it’s truly unique and touching. After a trip to my local cinema, I think I can safely try to clear things up on the matter.

First, I have to admit; yes the themes illustrated in Jojo rabbit aren’t exactly all-new. The idea of depicting Hitler in a ridiculing way has been exploited many times, whether by Charlie Chaplin (“the great dictator”) or Disney. The Jew in the attic trope is honestly a classic of World War 2 movies at this point and the German resistance theme isn’t exactly untouched either (see “Sophie Scholl” by Marc Rothemund). Moreover, this movie, putting all these themes together, doesn’t exactly leave room for an in-depth approach to any of these tropes. Personally, if I wanted to watch a movie on any of these themes, there are thousands that would come to mind. A lot of movies depict the Second World War, the German resistance and the horrors experienced by the Jews way better than “Jojo Rabbit”.

Then again, the people who claim that “Jojo rabbit” is a unique movie aren’t completely wrong either. What is new here isn’t the themes of the movie but the perspective from which they are seen. Even though it’s a pretty small percentage, there are movies from the perspective of German nationalists, but never from the point of view from a young child. This film shows us how a young innocent child could get affected by the ideas and doctrines surrounding him. It is only natural that a child, not knowing better, would look up to the “cool club” of Nazis and participate in the discrimination against Jews. Furthermore, the film shows us how a misinformed young child who idolizes Hitler, slowly starts to open his eyes to what’s happening around him and slowly begins to differentiate lie from fiction until he finally learned how to think for himself.

Finally, I wouldn’t say this movie, filled with a healthy dose of laughs and feels, is completely unique or that it’s nothing new. It has overused tropes like it has some generally new and intriguing ones. Now, in my opinion, to say it’s a one of a kind masterpiece would be too much but I think it’s worth checking out for the interesting new approach it took to on the topics illustrated.

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Movies

“ Parasite”: here’s what’s worth noting.

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“Parasite” is a box-office hit focusing on the newly formed relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, The Palm d’Or winner made history this month. By winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, it became the first South Korean film to receive Academy Award recognition as well as being the first non-English-language film to win Best Picture. Now, these aren’t the only awards won by that film, but that aside, a movie so critically acclaimed is bound to be good. Or is it? After a trip to my local cinema, I found some things worth noting.

First, I want to talk about the comedy embodied in the movie. Indeed, through the whole film, you can find bits of funny gags to keep the atmosphere moving, it gives the movie a deceivingly light-hearted feeling for a moment as if disconnecting you from the unsettling reality of the movies without making that reality completely disappear. In fact, we can almost say that it gives that reality in question a feel of absurdity for a moment which definitely gives a good laugh. In addition, looking at the bigger picture, the film is laced with satire and irony, whether it’s the whole movie itself or a certain situation, it never fails to make Bong Joon-ho’s messages reach its audience.                                                              

That brings us to our second point, the movie is full of interesting messages. We can clearly see that we have a very well build social critique shown through the satiric aspects of the movie. More precisely, Bong Joon-ho builds his movie around a critique of capitalism and it’s effects on us as humans and as a society. It definitely leaves us thinking about the way we are currently living in a different light.                                                                                                       

Another thing that plays into our reception of the movie and its message, is the immersive experience provided by the South Korean movie. Indeed, everything about the movie tries to get us more and more absorbed with the scenes unfolding in front of us. Everything from the smooth cinematography to the music reflects the ambiance and events currently taking place on the screen in front of us. Furthermore, the scenery and the great acting really makes us feel as if everything happening is somehow real. This movie leaves us feeling as if we were involved with what was happening.

 In the end, we could say that the parasite is a good movie. Bong Joon-ho and everyone who worked on this movie used a very interesting and entertaining way to catch the viewer’s attention and send the message they wanted to deliver. Though art is subjective and this movie might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I would say it is worth watching to find out.

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Entertainment Movies

“Portrait of a lady on fire”: to watch or not to watch?

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So, after months of stalling, I finally decided to tackle the period drama “portrait of a lady on fire”.It depicts the story between a French aristocrat(Héloïse) and a female painter(Marianne) paid to make her wedding portrait in secret while posing as Héloïse walking companion. As such, the Cannes award for best screenplay winner came with a lot of promises, especially knowing that Director Céline Sciamma isn’t exactly a Cannes first-timer. But now, past projects aside, is “portrait of a lady on fire”, as a stand-alone film, really worth watching? It wouldn’t be the first time that an award-winning movie left the viewer with nothing but disappointment. Well, dear readers, fear not for I went ahead and watched it for you all! And here’s why I think you should jump that leap of faith too and invest some of your time and emotions in that movie.

The first thing that made this viewing experience interesting was the approach Sciamma took on love. Here it’s a fleeting moment, a memory in the making, and that was made clear since the first scene of the movie. Furthermore,what makes these feelings stand out, even more, is the relationship between the characters themselves. Indeed, there could have been a lot of factors influencing their relationships dynamic like their social status, their sexuality, the knowledge that what is happening between them isn’t going to last. But Instead, there was no internal conflict coming in the way like it’s usually portrayed in queer movies. On the contrary, you could say that the fact that these feelings were exchanged between two women gave the relationship a certain immunity to the demands and expectations of society .Héloïse and Marianne took it as it is. Nothing but raw feelings and passion. It did feel like they “invented something new”.It gave this story a certain level of intimacy and companionship.

Talking about intimacy, another thing that I really appreciated in this movie is the way it portrayed the sexual aspect and desires of the two main characters. The concept of consent is clearly present between the two ladies and the sexual tension isn’t obnoxiously thrown in with a ten-minute sex scene.In fact, it was always here. From the first interaction between Héloïse and Marianne, we could see the tension flowing in the air. From the “stolen” glances to the tones of their voices, their passion can clearly be seen.Moreover,anytime there’s a mention of sex or nudity, we can see that both of the leading women are open with there desires, it feels so natural and intimate. Not like it’s some “scandalous lesbian sex scene”.

Another thing worth watching the movie for is the way it’s laced with cultural and literary references. The glimpse of art history and the very fitting use of the myth of Orpheus give this movie a whole different layer of depth. Without forgetting how Sciamma is able to tackle modern themes through characters like  Marianne, Sophi(the maid of the household), and Héloïse all while staying historically accurate. I would even say that the historical accuracy played to her advantage.

But most of all, what really made all of these aspects of the movie stand out, for me, was the incredible acting. Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant honestly made the characters look real, they gave the story a vassal. You can see the feelings though their eyes, in their smiles and movement, in the tones of their voices. Besides,with the minimalistic style of Sciamma, the acting really stood out.

With it’s incredible acting and storytelling,this movie took me on a beautiful journey of love in coastal France of the 18th century.Between paintings, music and card games, this movie left me crying and reflecting on a lot of interesting ideas it sparked in me,so yes,it is worth watching. Will it have this same effect on you? There’s only one way to find out.

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