Four Stars!
Scarlett Johansson deserves her academy award nomination for this one. Thumbs up to her and the entire cast. Rebel Wilson and Sam Rockwell were great co-stars as well. I also enjoyed the performance of the main character, JoJo. He brought the movie to life. The movie takes place in Nazi Germany in the midst of the Holocaust. JoJo is a German child that admires Adolf Hitler. He admires him so much that when he is in doubt or unsure, Adolf shows up to talk to and encourage this German boy who supports his country and what they are doing to the "Jews". I don't know how much you can stand this movie if you are sensitive to the Holocaust or the manipulation of children. JoJo's mom (Johansson) is hiding a jewish girl in the upstairs book shelving. When JoJo discovers the girl there, he embarks on a journey to find out as much as he can about jewish people. You get to see the prejudices and stereotypes that plagued the minds of the German people through JoJo's experience with this jewish girl. While the movie adds in dark humor to lighten things up, it also reveals how prejudice, hate, and discrimination are taught to innocent children who otherwise have no concern or interest in this way of treating people. The movie has an unexpected twist towards the end, but is actually good at telling a grueling story in a way that allows people to watch and not want to throw things or yell at the screen. It's worth every academy award nomination it got.
It was a challenge to watch in terms of the detached emptiness of some of the scenes. How easily a fascination of a fanatic can take hold even with adults. These were some great performers and performances!