There’s a long list of Hollywood movies focused on Nazi Germany, with different directors recapturing and sometimes even rewriting the history around one of the most significant periods of modern history in different styles.
Liam Neeson’s very serious movie Schindler’s List shows a member of the Nazi party going to extreme lengths to save his Jewish employees. Then there’s a much more light-hearted Inglourious Basterds which shows the victims taking matters into their own hands, as Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) take on.
In and around these two moods, you can find several many other brilliantly crafted movies on the subject. However, you’ll have to spend a lot of time scanning IMDb’s suggestions list to find a movie where Adolf Hitler is the protagonist’s best friend.
How Taika Waititi Explored the Topic of Nazi Germany Through His Movie Jojo Rabbit
Taika Waititi directed movie Jojo Rabbit is filled with satirical elements as it attempts to narrate the Nazi Germany and the end of it through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy.
The young German boy (Roman Griffin Davis) lives with his mother (Scarlett Johansson) during the climatic period of World War II, as hilariously underlined by his only real friend Yorki: “It’s definitely not a good time to be a Nazi.”
Due to an absent father figure and lack of friends, he slowly builds an imaginary friendship with the country’s dictator (played by Waititi). However, his world changes once he discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
The movie is a coming-of-age story of an innocent boy who goes from being a Nazi fanatic to learning who are his real enemies.
Jojo Rabbit made $90.3 million at the box office, while Waititi received rave reviews for his satirical representation through a young German boy’s perspective. He also attracted plenty of praise for the brilliant manner in which he used The Beatles’ music in his film.
Why Taika Waititi Used The Beatles’ Music in His Movie on Hitler
During his research for the script of Jojo Rabbit, the Thor: Love and Thunder director noticed the similarities between the craze and admiration for the German leaders and the UK rock band The Beatles.
He said: “It struck me, the similarities between the crowd at Hitler’s rallies and the frenzy at Beatles concerts.”
Accordingly, he was keen to reflect the same in the movie through music and tasked Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino to come up with something. It was very challenging for Giacchino to get the rights to German-language Beatles songs for a movie about Hitler but his experience of working with Paul McCartney came in handy.
Giacchino said: “The first response is, ‘Um, I don’t think we want to do that. Once his people saw the film and understood, they made it happen.”
In the opening scene of the movie, the German version of The Beatles’ song “I Want to Hold Your Hand” plays in the background as Jojo runs to the Hitler Youth training camp, perfectly encapsulating the Hilter fandom of the time.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
