The people have spoken, and the people love a “hipster” comedy about a “mean-girl” Adolf Hitler, apparently.
On Sunday, the TIFF People’s Choice Award was handed out to “Jojo Rabbit,” a WWII satire written and directed by weirdo heartthrob Taika Waititi. The movie is about Jojo, a young German boy who’s furious to discover that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic and working with the resistance. Waititi plays Hitler, but not as a historical figure — rather, he’s Jojo’s cartoonishly idiotic and bitchy imaginary friend.
The movie got mixed reviews, with some critics praising its bold concept and connections to contemporary politics, while others were tired of its “smugness” and reliance on schtick. Nearly all critics seem to agree that the movie will be a divisive one.
Last year’s TIFF People’s Choice winner was also divisive: the prize went to “Green Book,” which went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture, but received a lot of pushback for its reliance on the “white saviour” trope.
Other past winners of the TIFF prize have also gone on to collect a ton of major awards, including “12 Years a Slave,” “La La Land,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Room.”
With files from The Canadian Press