Episode 44: Jojo Rabbit and Inglourious Basterds

Comedic World War Two. Sarah Watt, William Chen and Jeremy Downing discuss two films that focus on Nazi-occupied Europe during World War Two that have a comedic or satirical edge: Jojo Rabbit (2019) and Inglourious Basterds (2009). We begin by discussing the situations and ways we first watched Inglourious Basterds, highlighting key reactions we had to the film the first time and upon rewatching it. We then move into a discussion of Jojo Rabbit, beginning with a comparison of music between the two films and then progressing into a chat about the film generally. We unpack the way that Jojo Rabbit plays with comedic moments, while not underplaying the horrors of the regime and war, as well as thinking about how the film connects to other movies. We celebrate the character of Col. Hans Landa and the work of Christoph Waltz. We talk about the tension in Tarantino films and how editor Sally Menke's work contributes to his films' confidence in tension. Our discussion then moves back to Jojo Rabbit and how it deals with serious moments, as well looking at how successful the satirical Hitler scenes were. We finish our discussion by exploring the performances in both films and highlighting key actors.