Fox Searchlight marketed Jojo Rabbit as an "anti-hate satire" - a disclaimer suggesting that the distributor expected some blowback. That's understandable, given the film's risky premise: the story of a Hitler Youth whose imaginary friend is, well, Adolf Hitler.
Some festivalgoers in Toronto, where the film premiered in September, also anticipated controversy. But the resulting back-and-forth over whether the twee treatment worked was largely limited to critics and cinephiles, many of whom found the film, despite its edgy premise, to be quite tame in execution.
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After the initial buzz died down, Jojo Rabbit reemerged as a talker when it landed multiple Oscar nominations in January, including best picture. But the feel-good flick is up against award season giants such as 1917 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, not to mention the stealth awards magnet Parasite, which has won a number of critic and industry accolades.
So does it stand a chance? Let's take a closer look.