My Picks for the Ten Best Movies of 2019 Version 1.0

Still a lot of 2019 releases to see but this list represents my initial choices for the 10 best films of 2019. This has been a disappointing film year.

10. Richard Jewell
9. Jojo Rabbit
8. Apollo 11
7. Toy Story 4
6. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
5. Mike Wallace is Here
4. Booksmart
3. The Two Popes
2. Little Women
1. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

My Choices for the 10 Best Movies of 2018 Version 2.0

10. Vice
9. The Mule
8. Won't You Be My Neighbor
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
6. Crazy Rich Asians
5. BlacKkKlansman
4. The Favorite
3. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2. First Reformed
1. Roma

Richard Jewell (2019)

When I first started to see previews for the new movie 'Richard Jewell' I was excited, curious of course to know more about one the most famously wrongly accused people of my life time, but mainly because I have been a fan of director Clint Eastwood's late in life cycle of making films based on true stories of recent decades ('Sully', 'The Mule'). The backlash over the films portal of Kathy Scruggs an Atlanta newspaper reporter who played a prominent role in the veritable witch hunt that Mr. Jewell was subjected to, dampened my enthusiasm some. Ms. Scruggs is dead and therefore not in a position to defend her self and Olivia Wilde plays her as a pretty miserable excuse for a human being, this may well be unfair to her. However that aside I thought 'Richard Jewell' was a pretty solid movie.

For those who may be unfamiliar or who have forgotten Jewell was a security guard at the Centennial Park venue at the 1996 Summer Olympic games in Atlanta Georgia. It was Jewell who first pegged an abandoned backpack as a "suspicious package" and alerted authorities. Ultimately the backpack proved to contain three pipe bombs, and Richard's discovery of this likely saved many lives (ultimately over 100 people were injured and one to two killed, depending on the source). Hailed initially as a hero Jewell quickly became the prime suspect, the FBI was looking at him as a likely 'hero bomber' someone who plants a bomb in order to stop it and thus become a hero (there is precedent for this, apparently something similar happened at the L.A. games in 84'). Scruggs broke that story, and the film implies got said dirt in exchange for sexual favors with an FBI agent. Jewell's life was needlessly turned upside down and the real bomber Eric Rudolph wouldn't be apprehended until 2003.

In some ways this story is really the stuff of "The TV movie" though that genera as brought to us by the "the networks" has largely gone away since 1996 when this movie is set. By giving Jewell's tale a big screen treatment, with high production values and solid actors, Eastwood has given the man the redemption tale he deserved (sadly Jewell passed away in 2007 at the age of 44). Jewell was a Baptist and a gun loving, portly white southern man, and he is now the hero of a major motion picture, that just doesn't happen, and that is why this is so great, this is a story we don't often get and well told to boot. Paul Walter Hauser is fantastic as Jewell, he becomes the man and radiates an odd endearing charisma playing someone who seemed to be very awkward. Kathy Bates gets a sold part as Jewell's devoted mother, with whom he was living at the time of the bombing. Jon Hamm plays FBI agent Tom Shaw, who I think may be a composite, his square jaw casting is almost too obvious, but works none the less. Sam Rockwell gave my favorite performance of the piece as Watson Bryant, Jewell's friend and lawyer whose trust in his client is heartening, and whose efforts in his service inspiring.

Though one could read the film, especially in light of the current political climate as an us vs. them story of the media vs. downtrodden white America, I would recommend taking it as what at its heart it appears to be, a redemption story. Richard Jewell was a hero,  a man who wanted to be one and for whom unlike most of us, time, circumstance, and talent combined to allow him to be. He went through hell for doing the right thing, yet in the end you know he'd do it again in a heartbeat. It's a story the bears telling. ***1/2

Little Women (2019)

'Little Women' was not a story I knew, I mean beyond some basics, New England, 4 March sisters, father's off serving in the Civil War. Having now seen this I can appreciate why it is considered a classic, and why people keep returning to it, why it keeps being remade as a film. This new version is Greta Gerwig's follow up project to the movie that made her a name director, the Oscar nominated 'Lady Bird' from 2017. Gerwig plays with the story structure some, I understand the novel is very lineal, here you toggle back and forth between two story periods, one during the civil war and one several years after, it took me a little bit to catch on to when the switches were happening, but you can mostly tell by way of context, peoples haircuts ect. Some would call Gerwig's a feminist take, but if you have a problem with that term don't let it throw you, I think most would agree that women's options were rather unfairly limited in the mid 19th Century America, that is the principle social critique in film.

This movie is really enjoyable, it can win you over, the man sitting next to me in the theater clearly did not chose this film, his wife did, but by the end he seemed to be into it. If I had to sum up a description of the film in one word I'd say "warm". The source material, Louisa May Alcott's novel is over 150 years old but this felt fresh, and refreshing un-cynical, though with some knowing contemporary touches. The movie is very well cast, good supporting roles for the likes of Chris Cooper and Meryl Streep. Laura Dern plays the mom, Timothee Chalamet the principle love interest. Though this is based on a classically American novel none of the four "little women" are American, instead portrayed by two English women (Emma Watson and Florence Pugh), an Irishwoman (Saoirse Ronan as the lead character, Jo) and an Australian (Eliza Scanlen, the only principle performer in the film whose work I was not previously familiar with). Everybody does an excellent job, this cast really clicks.

 I don't want to focus much on details of the plot because I really enjoyed going into things with a minimal knowledge of what was going to happen, suffice it to say its about the trails of growing up and young adult hood, a period piece yes but also universal. I understand Gerwig (who adapted as well as directed this piece) did several fairly significant changes to the original text, and I find now to my surprise I kind of want to read this book, this book written for 19th century girls. Surprisingly affecting, one of the real film going pleasures of this year. I can highly recommend, even if you don't think this is going to be your kind of thing you may be surprised. ****

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Sofia Coppola's first film may in fact be her best, not that many of her other films aren't really good, even great, but the style comes out fully formed in this first one and subsequent films of hers have been variations on the same theme, namely stylized melancholy with a strong soundtrack. Based on the 1993 debut novel of the same name by the later Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Eugenides, 'The Virgin Suicides' tells that story of 5 suburban Michigan sisters in 1974 and how over the course of around eights months, each of them commits suicide. So obviously this isn't a light hearted film, it's beautifully sad, and not an endorsement of their actions, which I kind of took it to be when I first heard of it 20 years ago, a glamorizing.

The death of the youngest girl, 13 year old Cecilia, well that probably couldn't have been stopped, she probably couldn't have been helped she was quite disturbed, but the others, well those largely grew out of the ways principally the mother (Kathleen Turner) responded to the first death. Yet neither she nor the father (James Woods, you forgot how good of an actor he is) were bad people, and the girls, though Lux (Kirstin Dunst) was particularly prone to be wild, weren't bad girls. The mystery of why the tragedy happened is at the heart of the film and is never really answered, because how could a mystery of this sort be answered.

The film is presented as the reminiscence of local boys from the neighborhood, who even 25 years later continue to be obsessively puzzled about how those beautiful neighbors came to their ultimate fate. I was supper impressed with 'The Virgin Suicides' I know and like Ms. Coppola's work but this far exceeded my expectations, quite a powerful movie. Not that stylized really for the most of it, though the coda at the end really is and it took me awhile to decide that that last sequence really works. Highly recommended, to the right audience. ****

The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1966)

I really wanted to like this movie more then I ended up liking it. This is the only movie, to my memory, that my dad specifically mentioned his dad taking him and his siblings to see in the theater. As a result of knowing that I've long had a presumably greater then average curiosity about the film, I simply hadn't gotten around to seeing it. Directed by the versatile Norman Jewison from the novel 'The Off-Islanders' by Nathaniel Benchley, who was the son of noted humorist Robert Benchley and the father of 'Jaws' scribe Peter Benchley. It is the story of a Russian sub that accidently runs aground on a small Massachusetts island, they send a small team onto the island to secure a boat to tow the sub out to see, but in process of doing so set off a panic among the islands inhabitants. So this is a satire of both the cold war and small towns. The principal players being the Russian first officer, and the husband and wife of the first family he and his team come across, played respectively by Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, and Eva Marie Saint, all of whom remarkably are still alive more then 50 years after this film came out.

The movie has its moments, and I certainly admire the 'ecumenical sprit' of the thing, the Russian's aren't depicted as bad people and the Americans are depicted as prone to overreaction. I thought the movie too often slow, and the dryer moments of humor worked better then the more slapstick bits. The ending is hokey but effective, though a bit of a turn on a dim and wouldn't hold up to much scrutiny were this a film that would require that. A feel good gentle ribbing of a movie, a lesser 'It's Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World' that really resonated at the time, making more then $21 million on a $4 million budget. **1/2 

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

'Zombieland: Double Tap' is the excessively delayed sequel to the 2009 hit 'Zombieland' which its self was a lesser 'Shaun of the Dead'. They simply waited far to long for this one (the film even jokingly acknowledges this in Jesse Eisenberg's opening narration). Zombies just aren't 'hot' anymore, and I'm not just talking about their body temperature (rim shot). The whole thing felt rather pointless to me, the returning central cast are all fine, and I even liked the additional characters they introduced, all of which I think benefited by limiting their screen times. For a comedy I seldom if ever laughed, and their were longish boring stretches. If you see it though make sure to stick around for the mid credits sequence, which is probably the best thing in the movie. Provided its very self aware I would still be up for a 'Zombieland 3' in 2029, a middle aged Eisenberg and Stone shooting up the undead could have an ironic charm. **

A Madea Family Christmas (2013)

The novelty of these are starting to wear off for me. In 'A Madea Family Christmas' Madea loses her holiday retail job because she is so rude to customers and travels to Alabama to spend Christmas with some extended family. Plot points include unmet familial expectations, inter-racial relations, the local school  experiencing a budget shortfall on account of a new dam, and two farmers both wanting to grow corn next year. If you've ever wanted to see Tyler Perry and Larry the Cable Guy trade crummy jokes, this movie is for you. *1/2

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Having now seen J. J. Abrams ending for the 3rd Star Wars trilogy I can't help but think I'd have preferred to see how Rian Johnson would have wrapped things up. Though flawed Johnson's 'The Last Jedi' at least knew how to take risks, Abrams plays things much safer and the few times it appeared as though their might be real unexpected consequences in 'The Rise of Skywalker' he backed off. This is a crowded, often pandering movie, that far too often felt rushed. Not there are not good things in it, I really liked seeing our trio of lead characters spend some much needed time together, Adam Driver remains the strongest of the younger performers in franchise, I liked one supporting players decently set up character flip, Keri Russell's voice, and the snowy planet Kijimi whose German occupied Europe vibe I thought a nice touch.

Abrams however didn't seem to know what to do with the supporting players, Kelly Marie Tran's Rose getting particularly short shift. There is much in this that does not feel very well set up, including the (this is not a spoiler he is on the teaser poster) return of Emperor Palpatine, this felt like a really big cheat that knocks much of the air out of Vader's sacrifice at the end of Episode 6. Never quite as rousing as it would like to think it is, I was surprised at the paucity of audience reaction in the half full theater I saw it in. I suppose Abrams did what he could given what seems to be a barley concealed animosity towards what Johnson did with the previous film. The biggest culprit here of course is that this new trilogy was not plotted out in advance, which seems a really dumb decision given that for far too long no one seemed to know what they were setting up for as the final payoff. You'll want to go see this for completeness sake, but I found it more then a little bit of a disappointment and a real mixed bag. ***

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

Beloved American icon Tom Hanks plays beloved American icon Fred Rogers in 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.' Now if you've decided your going to make a movie about Fred Rogers the big issue is what's the story going to be? Wisely deciding not to go with life spanning bio-pick 'Beautiful Day' like Rogers himself is centered on the idea of personal relationships, it's not in a hurry, it's about changing lives through decency, empathy, and personal connection. The framing device is the writing of a 1998 Esquire Magazine cover story about Rogers, originally planned as a short piece to be included in an issue dedicated to 'heros' it grew into something much bigger when its author Tom Junod found himself profoundly affected by the time he spent with the children's television host. The real life Junod is here fictionalized as Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) and given a personal arc of reconnecting with an estranged father (Chris Cooper). Apparently the father/son reconciliation of the story while not true of Junod, is inspired by an actual familial reconnection facilitated by Rogers.

The material in the film is for the most part treated pretty straight, there are some stylistic flourishes, including a framing device of Rogers introducing and commenting upon the story as he might if it were an episode of his television program. There is also an enjoyably trippy nightmare/dream sequence where Vogal finds himself trapped on the show, included for a time as a puppet sized, rabbit eared version of himself in 'the land of make believe'. Rhys is tasked with most the movies dramatic heavy lifting, story wise, owing to the actors most famous role as Phil Jennings on the cold war themed series 'The Americans' there is an element where I was like 'don't trust him Mr. Rogers he's a Russian spy, he could kill you.' So Rhys is quite good, and the supporting cast is fine including Susan Kelechi Watson as Vogal's wife Andrea. But you really didn't come to see them, you came to see Hank's as Rogers, and I have a few things I want to say about the performance and the man.

Now a major arc in this film is Vogal trying to figure out Rogers, trying to determine with his investigative reporter prowess if this guy is for real or not, if he is what he appears to be. There is a certain enigma to Mr. Rogers, it can be hard to know just how to take him. There is this whole aura that has built up around him, like he's a Saint, and its countered out in the either with this idea that he has something to hide, including the urban legend that he was a sniper in the Korean War and heavily tattooed under his trademark sweaters. There is a moment in the film where Mrs. Rogers (Mary Plunkett) spots Vogal giving her husband one those "I don't get you" looks, and she responds with this gentle smile like she's seen that look a lot, and she never ceases to be amused with the existential  challenge her husband seems to pose for some people.

Hanks plays Rogers as a man of surprising discipline, a man who can hold in his emotions, whose like a monk. In one scene Vogal, not in the best mood, is pushing Rogers some on how difficult it must have been for his children growing up with him as this larger then life father, Hanks has this look in his eyes of "I really don't like what your telling me", but he holds back when he might want to lash out, and tries to turn it into something constructive. Rogers was in a sense a man who had to always be 'on', he was himself, I think truly, but also a stream lined version of himself a 'character' of Mr. Rogers who was too important to others to risk letting the seems and cracks show. To do anything  "out of character" he had to do them in another "character". This is talked about by his children in the documentary film from a couple years back 'Won't You Be My Neighbor' that when he had to say something 'un Mr. Rogers like' around the home he would sometimes slip into one of his puppetry voices like King Friday or Lady Elaine Fairchilde. There is a moment where Rogers is talking to Vogal with the Daniel Stripped Tiger puppet, and it's strange, more then a little off, in another story its the kind of guy who would become a serial killer, here it's channeled towards connection not away from it.

The film has been lightly criticized for downplaying Rogers religiosity, he was an ordained Presbyterian minister, but even Rogers himself downplayed that in his public persona. Though he had a life dedicated to ministry it was not a conventional one, he sought to reach out to the vulnerable child in all of us, and validate that children, to suffer the children as corny as that sounds. This captures some of that, and hints at the human man behind it that struggled successfully to do that for most of his life. Which makes 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood' as satisfying as a retelling of the parable of the Good Samaritan. ***

The Birdcage (1996)

The great Elaine May adapted the 1978 Franco-Italian film 'La Cage aux Folles' as 'The Birdcage' and her long time creative partner Mike Nichols directed it. The film stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a long time South Beach gay couple who must 'play it straight' when their son brings his fiancés conservative Ohio parents to meet them, one of whom (Gene Hackman) is a Republican Senator (Dianne Wiest plays his wife). The couple at the center of this Dan Futterman and Calista Flockhart are probably the least interesting people in the movie, which also shows Christine Baranski to good effect and Hank Azaria in a role that might be offensive now, I'm not sure. In addition to a bevy of now refreshingly quaint mid 90's political references, it is hard not to divorce the film from its time, this would have been quite radical then in its mainstreaming a gay couple as the center of a major American comedy release (grossed $185.3 million on a $31 million budget). While not often laugh out loud funny, it is funny, as well as observant, empathetic, and in a strange why tonally restrained, while still very much over the top in other ways. It has a heft to it that serves it well and makes it last, this could have been an awful throw away movie in lesser hands. ***1/2

Teen Wolf (1985)

While I definitely saw parts of this movie as I kid I don't think I ever watched it all the way through. Their was a Saturday morning cartoon version that I remember watching, and I have a distinct memory of my dad watching it one night and being interrupted by someone at the door. Turned out to be two bored teenage kids in the ward who decided to just stop by and bug brother Dredge for a while. Or maybe they were home teachers? I remember watching the conversation and not understanding why they were their and being a bit annoyed they had interrupted my pops in the middle of a movie.

'Back to the Future' came out in early July of 1985 and 'Teen Wolf' in late August. The advertising for 'Teen Wolf' took advantage of the success of the earlier film and Michael J. Fox's tremendous popularity in it. However 'Teen Wolf' is no 'Back to the Future'. This movie takes a tremendous amount of time to really getting going, about the first half of the film passes before it really picks up, and its message and ending are kind of weak. It's very much an unexceptional 80's teen comedy in spirit, however what makes 'Teen Wolf' work is one brilliant conceit, once Michael J. Fox is publically reveled to be a werewolf everyone just accepts it without question. Their are almost no negative consequences to Fox's lycanthropism. That's just great, I loved that. Unlike Fox however I would have gone for the cute brunette from the get go. **1/2

The Two Popes (2019)

Brazilin director Fernando Meirelles's ('The City of God', 'The Constant Gardener') multi-lingual adaptation of New Zealander Anthony McCartens 2017 stage play 'The Pope'. 'The Two Popes' stars Anthony Hopkins as Joseph Ratzinger/ Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as Jorge Mario Bergoglio/ Pope Francis. Produced for Netflix but given a limited theatrical run, which is how I saw it, 'The Two Popes' consists largely of imagined conversations between the two Catholic leaders prior to the latters elevation to the chair of Saint Peter. The film nicely opens up the stage bounded material to give it the appropriate global scale, and while it is a fairly cerebral film composed mostly of two people talking, it is its own kind of spectacle, two serious people discussing serious philosophical and theological ideas in a mostly civil manner. It is more then just the standard right / left debate you might imagine given the two principal figures reputations, I came away from this film with more respect for both Popes. While titled 'The Two Popes' as the source materials title 'The Pope' suggests this is more the story of one pontiff then the other, there is a lot conveyed about the life and backstory of the current Pope, some of it in flash backs where he is played by Juan Minujín, which may not be widely known to most audiences but is certainly worth knowing. Both Hopkins and Pryce are excellent as is to be expected playing serious and passionate men, but neither without a sometimes subversive sense of humor. A joy of a film, if only there were more of its caliber, I highly recommend. ****

8 Mile (2002)

I finished up my movie watching goals for the year with '8 Mile' which featured my 12th new Oscar winning best song "Lose Yourself". Perhaps the most surprising thing for me abut '8 Mile' is that it was good, it reminded me of a cross between 'Rocky' and 'Saturday Night Fever'. Set in 1995 Detroit the film stars Marshall Mathers aka Eminem as 'B-Rabbit', the rappers only real film role this character feels as though it might be pretty analogous to him, and perhaps wisely he has limited his subsequent film appearances to cameo roles, he's good in this though, sold. 'Rabbit' is a poor white kid who dreams of being a star in the predominantly black world of rap music, he must prove himself and the film ultimately ends with "a satisfying rap battle." A wonderfully real feeling sense of urban rot to this piece. Good supporting cast highlighted by Kim Basinger as 'Rabbits' mom, and featuring a rather fetching Brittney Murphy as his love interest. There is also a far amount of later to be famous people in this movie including Michael Shannon and Anthony Mackie. Directed by Curtis Hanson at the end of what had been a very strong period for him, including the films 'L.A. Confidential' and 'Wonder Boys'. This isn't something that it would necessarily make much sense for me to like on paper, but I did. ***

The Gate (1987)

A couple of kids accidently open a portal to Hell (a "gate" if you will) in one of their backyards after workers remove an old tree. I really wanted to like this more then I did, the acting is just not that great (featuring a young Stephen Dorf), though the special effects are memorable, a lot of stop motion and forced perspective. Set in an unspecified suburbia, but filmed in Canada, a couple of things let that slip. It's a kids film I suppose, but at times a little intense. I remember seeing my mom watch part of it while I was in high school, at that time for me 'a gate to hell' was just too much for a subject of a film centered on kids. Uneven this is really a kind of Poltergeist Jr. Not my thing, but unusual enough to be worth a watch.**

And Everything is Going Fine (2010)

Documentary on the life of the late actor and monologist Spalding Gray (1941-2004). The film consists almost entirely of Mr. Gray talking, other then a few snippets from interviewers. The documentary contains no talking heads and is composed of footage from Mr. Gray's monologues, interviews, home movies, ect. You don't really even need to watch this as a movie, you can listened to it as a monologue, which is exactly what it was constructed to be. There is a lot interesting information here, I am a Spalding Gray fan and I learned new stuff I didn't know. Of particular interest is material pertaining to how Mr. Gray first came up with idea of doing monologues, and information about the June 2001 auto accident in Ireland which set in motion events leading to his January 2004 suicide. This film however is just not as good as an actual Spalding Gray monologue, and a recording of his first one "Sex and Death to Age Fourteen" recorded in 1982 is included as a special feature on the DVD. The documentary feature is directed by Steven Soderbergh. **1/2

Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys (2008)

Tyler Perry's film's are sometimes interesting for the bizarre mis-mash of genera types they contain, 'The Family that Preys' is part Christian movie, part soap opera, and part buddy road trip comedy, and while here it works probably better then it should, it still doesn't really work. There is no Madea in this one, but Perry is still that rareish filmmaker who writes prominent parts for women over 50, in this case Kathy Bates and Alfie Woodword, my mom had long wanted me to see this. *1/2

Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

Unlike the 'Rocky' movies I never really much cared for the 'Rambo' franchise, other then the first one, thought # 3 can be enjoyed ironically. 'Rambo: Last Blood' wraps things up, though it feels more out of obligation then need. This is a dark, unhappy movie, a real downer whose excessive violence is depressing, not even enjoyable in an over the top Tarantino sort of way. Not to give away too much of the plot for those who might want to see it let me just say revenge has a role in the proceedings. Though the inciting incident might be best to go in somewhat unaware I will tell you the ending involves Rambo booby-trapping a series of tunnels under his south Arizona ranch, like a far more sadistic 'Home Alone'. There are instances of violence in this movie where it ran through my head 'You know I'd never thought of that but I suppose you could do that to a human body'. Competently enough made like some other 'Rambio' films in does touch on some matters of seemingly current interest, such as the drug and human trafficking situation in Mexico, but there are better films and series about those things such as 'Sicario' and 'The Bridge'. Paz Vega is in this, she doesn't have that much to do, her's is a career that never meet its full potential, and I feel that same about this 'Rambo' movie, if they were going to give this character a farewell, I wish their had been more to it. *1/2

Get Shorty (1995)

I remember this movie doing strong business and being pretty well thought off when it first came out, watching it now, for the first time, it seems dated and oddly tame. 'The Sopranos' came after this, as did a greater vogue for satire and dry humor. This movie seems like a slightly more straight version of 'Big Trouble', it seems like a whiff of what would come later with both prestige TV and meta TV, interestingly their is now a TV series adapted from this film. Based on a novel by Elmore Leonard 'Get Shorty' is about a Miami based loan shark (John Travolta at the dawn of his career resurgence) who travels to L.A. on a job and decides to get into the movie business, as a producer not an actor. It's likable enough, I can see how it would have been somewhat fresh and semi-innovative for the middle 90's, but I don't know,  more then most well regarded films of the past I couldn't get much beyond the sense that this was more progenitor then its own independent thing. It's well done, strong cast, I particularly liked Delroy Lindo in this. I would rate it favorably, moderately impressed by it, but just didn't' grab me like I hoped it would. Danny DeVito is the 'Shorty' of the title. ***

Jojo Rabbitt (2019)

The Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL4McUzXfFI

Before seeing or even really talking about 'Jojo Rabbit' I would highly recommend first watching it's trailer, it could be difficult to get much of a grasp on what this movie is without seeing some footage. While the movie is adapted from a novel by Christine Leuens called 'Caged Skies' I would be curious to know how much it actually resembles that source material, it has such an idiocentric autor vibe about it. Adapted and directed by New Zealander Taika Waititi ('What We Do in the Shadows', 'Thor: Ragnarok') it might be helpful to know that the man is part Jewish. Set in Germany in the final year or so of the second World War the story centers on 10 year old Jojo (Roman Griffin Davies, quite good) who lives alone in a small village with his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson, also quite good, is this the first time she's played a mother?), his father having disappeared fighting in the war, and his older sister semi recently dead, though to my memory the movie never really explains how she died, which I thought an interesting choice. Jojo is a naïve boy, quite gung ho about the Nazi's (the film opens with a creative musical montage that likens pro Nazi enthusiasm among naïve young Germans to later Beatlemania.) but he has a sincere kind heart. Largely shunned by the other kids, with the exception of his good friend Yorki (Archie Yates), Jojo's 'best friend' is a comic, imaginary version of Adolph Hitler (played by director Waititi).

There is a lot of broad comedy in the film, though the tone gets more reflective and even somber as it progresses, the ending even gets pretty darn melancholy. The plot development that inaugurates this shift in tone is when Jojo discovers that his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) a friend of her late daughters, in the walls of the house. The two young people enact an uneasy truce, Elsa afraid if Rosie finds out Jojo knows about her she will make her leave, and Jojo afraid that if he tells anyone he knows his mother will be arrested. This often comical though tense situation gradualy grows into a mutual understanding, and Jojo's insulated view of the world slowly grows into a more realistic and understanding one.

Waititi's instincts here are admirable, and the films anti-hate message of ridiculing the absurdities of hate is a disappointingly relevant one for the world of today. Though reasonable people can disagree as to the effectiveness, and even the appropriateness of  that tone given the subject matter. I thought for the most part the humor worked, it is sometimes laugh out loud funny, though do to the juxtaposition at the heart of the film, their are even some seemingly lighter moments were I wasn't quite comfortable. I enjoyed the good cast, including Sam Rockwell, Rebel Wilson and Stephen Merchant, the movie has a nice look to it and a creative choice in its music. It is the heir, to various degrees of earlier Nazi mocking films like 'The Great Dictator', 'To Be or Not to Be', and even 'The Producers'.  The movie takes risks, makes you think, and is pretty sharp and depressingly current satire. Not for all tastes, but take a look at the trailer and you will know if you are up for it or not. ***1/2