Some critics dismissed the Oscar-nominated dark comedy Jojo Rabbit for making light of the evil embedded in Nazi Germany when the movie was released in October 2019. Hitler and National Socialism were, after all, existential threats to freedom and liberty throughout Europe, much of North Africa, and the Middle East until they were finally vanquished in May 1945. But New Zealand director Taiki Waititi’s (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows, Thor: Ragnarok) irreverent parody of one of the most perilous times in modern world history is worthy of its six Academy Award nominations, including those for
