Queen Blokkie

Absolutely wonderful. It shows what life was like WWII, showing how life seemed to be relatively normal if you were of Aryan descent, while, just like in Nazi Germany, many things are hidden from the average viewer. The horrors of war start to slowly creep in, with things affecting JoJo and the people around him more and more, but nevertheless It shows the level of brainwashing that children were the victims of, with even the main character having his imaginary friend be a perfect caricature of what he believed Hitler to be like; Funny, encouraging, and always there for him. An imaginary friend is a staple in many children’s young lives, and for one’s to be a genoidical dictator shows how dreadful his state of mind is. The use of scapegoats (Jews) and how ANY lie that was told about them was happily accepted as truth, including one from a 10 year old, shows how ready they were to hate on people that were different than them, and force a further wedge in between Germans, dehumanizing each other. Jojo is only 10, and, when walking around town, sees a beautiful butterfly. A smile plastered on his face, he follows it, much like many children would. He stops, and sees the legs of his mother, hanging from a post. Teary-eyed, the actions of war begins to seep into the child’s mind. When Jojo hears of his idol dying, and his friend telling him of how Hitler was hiding stuff from him, the cinematography perfectly displays his new mindset. One of war. One of unnecessary deaths. Darkness. Child suicide-bombers. Injured and dead people scattered across the battlefield. You see him for what he truly is; A child, indoctrinated by the evils of war who does not know any better. Only when the reality of war try starts to set in does Joo realise his faults. He humanises Jewish people and realises the level of indoctrination he was subject to, and how he was wrong. The character development is stellar. At the beginning, the thought of dancing with a Jewish person would have been seen as absurd to Jojo. But he does such at the end, as they only have each other. The bookend of the movie was spectacular, showing how far Jojo has come as a person. His imaginary friend Hitler shows up once more to try and encourage him to be hateful, but Jojo refuses. Once again, this is a spectacular movie. I highly recommend viewing it.