"Jojo Rabbit" Nom. for Best Picture Might Get Lucky

WWII Nazi Germany films are not known for their comedic, quirky storytelling.  But, the most poignant depictions of Hitler's Germany have the power to override the horrors of man's inhumanity by shedding light on the compassion & courage that resides within friendships, families, love and the celebration of life.  "Jojo Rabbit" is a profound coming of age film seen from the perspective of a 10 yr. old German boy Clone (Roman Davis) inducted in the final vestiges of the Nazi recruiting regime.  Clone is an angelic, Aryan looking boy wanting to fit in with the older boys in a Nazi training camp but he doesn't have the heart to prove himself a killer by ringing the neck of a rabbit thrust in his arms.  This perceived act of cowardice earns him ridicule & the deriding nickname "Jojo Rabbit."  To redeem himself Clone tries to unleash a grenade but it ricochets back ("oh shit") causing disfiguring scaring to his face. Clone's only friend within this brutish camp is Yorki (Archie Yates) a pudgy, gentle boy {think Piggy in "Lord of the Flies"} also devoid of a menacing nature.  The reluctant leader of this odd lot wanna be soldiers is played brilliantly by Sam Rockwell with Rebel Wilson as his humorous, female cohort.  Clone lives alone with his mother (Scarlett Johansson) and his imaginary companion; a cross-eyed, bumbling Hitler (Taika Waititi).  Waititi (b. New Zealand 1975 "Hunt for the Wilder People") also directs this film which is a pastiche of a Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," Mark Herman's "The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas," Mel Brooks' "The Producers" and Mark Twain's masterpiece "Huckleberry Finn."  Clone discovers his mother has been hiding Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) a young Jewess in their home.  Clone becomes perplexed by the fed Nazi propaganda against Jews & his mother's benevolence along with his growing fondness for Elsa being held in captivity.  The ensemble cast is superb especially Thomasin McKenzie (b. New Zealand '00) and Roman Davis (b. UK '07) who received a Critics Choice Award and a Golden Globe nomination for his role.  Waititi directs with a luminescence that's neither overly sentimental nor shies away from the heinous brutalities of Nazi Germany. Within this horrendous epoch in history "Jojo Rabbit" shows the grandeurs of life and the ability of love to conquer all. Perhaps, Twain's characters Huck & Jim best parallel the unremitting beauty in the acknowledgement of humanity in everyone  regardless of pressures or norms from a misguided & erroneous society.  There is an enduring fortitude with this captivating film.  Should "Jojo Rabbit" win a well deserved Oscar for Best Picture, the first thing I'll do is dance.