Use Motifs like Taika Waititi ►►
Jojo Rabbit (2019) isn’t only one of the best movies of the year, it might also have one of the most emotional scenes in recent memory. It isn’t just “what” happens in this Jojo Rabbit scene, it is “how” writer/director Taika Waititi set us up for a gut-punch and directs the scene using visual, narrative, and thematic motifs.
What is Jojo Rabbit About? Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a misguided Hitler youth living with his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), in WWII Germany. The film also stars Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, and Taika Waititi himself as Adolf Hitler. This satire comedy hits many emotional notes on innocence and independence — as Taika Waititi movies like Boy (2010) and Hunt For the Wilderpeople (2016) are known to do. But Jojo Rabbit goes straight for the heart.
A motif is any element repeated in a film that is meant to carry significance. In Jojo Rabbit, we have visual motifs like butterflies and tying shoes that seem inconsequential but they actually play a huge role in setting the emotional impact of the film’s climax. If we can learn anything from Taika Waititi in this Jojo Rabbit analysis, it’s how to use motifs and clues to make a devastating moment that much more so.
#filmtheory #directing #filmmaking
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