#rosie betzler imagine

[adamwatchesmovies]

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Jojo Rabbit walks a delicate line. One scene is laugh-out-loud, darkly comedic. The next is soul-crushing. When you look at it on paper, it shouldn’t work. On the screen, it’s memorable, tender, hilarious and insightful - a picture like none other. There are some who will find it tasteless but for the rest, it's one you'll be compelled to revisit.

In the final years of WWII, Ten-year-old Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) dreams of serving in Nazi Germany's army like his absent father. While at Hitler Youth Camp, Jojo follows the advice of his imaginary best friend, a child’s rendition of Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi). After an accident cripples him, he is sent back home. There, he discovers his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is harbouring a Jewish teenaged girl (Thomasin McKenzie).

This film excels at exposing the hypocrisy of the propaganda necessary to keep the Nazi machine (and similar systems) going. Jojo is only a child and even he has difficulty understanding how Elsa can be a demonic creature with horns and wings that drinks blood and can mind control good German boys, is cripplingly fascinated with shiny things and also an enemy the Nazis will easily eliminate. To him, she looks just like a normal girl. None of the interactions they have confirm her as dangerous.

The characters of Elsa, Jojo and his mother are all played relatively straight. Everyone else is a living contradiction. Rebel Wilson plays Fräulein Rahm. Despite being unmarried, she boasts having given birth to 18 children for Germany. How that’s possible, who knows. Her unreleting enthusiasm for the Nazi cause is bizarre considering her job at the Hitler Youth camp is to teach the girls there to dress wounds, take care of the injured… and have children. Not particularly exciting compared to the boys, who get to play with live munitions and enjoy the outdoors. The next noteworthy contradiction within the film is Nazi Germany’s attitude towards children. We’re told they’re the future, that the world will belong to them but as the tide of war shifts, we see the kids become be extremely disposable in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bit of off-sceen gruesomeness. The whole thing is topped by Taika Waititi’s portrayal of Hitler. Self-described as a Polynesian Jew, even if Waititi wasn’t directing and writing, his casting would feel like a smart, subversive inside joke. As the film begins, this Adolf Hitler is Jojo’s best friend. Once the boy starts questioning what the authorities have been feeding him, Hitler becomes increasingly hostile and comical. He’s more “so pathetic you’re glad you can laugh at him” than “funny because it’s so wrong to see Hitler doing this” kind of funny.

Lest you think this film does not take what happened during WWII seriously, understand that key scenes make you forget all about the fanciful imagination of Jojo’s world and bring you back to reality. The scenes with him and his mother, for example, are surprisingly grounded. You can feel the exhasperation Rosie must feel as her son makes all of these statements about Adolf Hitler, the Nazi cause, Jews and Germany. How frustrating it must be for her to endure what she hears. She could tell Jojo what the truth is, but he's a child. He doesn't understand what's really going on and doesn't understand that admitting the truth out loud could have serious consequences.

Though there are some big, memorable laughs within Jojo Rabbit, the dramatic revelations are so sobering that the drama/comedy split doesn't feel like it's down the middle. Said revelations only come in during the latter half of the movie, however, so they hit you when you least expect it - and hit you hard. This is not the kind of movie you easily forget precisely because it makes bold, bizarre-sounding choices. Though there is a chance you'll be so off-put by "Jojo Rabbit" that it won't be your cup of tea, every move that's being made has been carefully considered and the themes used throughout make it a picture I don't hesitate to recommend. (February 10, 2023)

#Jojo Rabbit #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Taika Waititi #Caging Skies #Christine Leunens #Roman Griffin Davis #Thomasin McKenzie #Rebel Wilson #Stephen Merchant #Alfie Allen #Sam Rockwell #Scarlett Johansson #2019 movies #2019 films

[mrs-johansson]

Strangers in the night - Scarlett Johansson x Fem!Reader

Part 17:

*third person pov*

Mid July, the sun shining on the pavement. People moving around with portable wardrobes, tents set up for hair and makeup, all this on the streets of Prague.

Cameras standing in a line, looking right at the center of the town. The buildings looked so bright but the picture just looked sad and empty of life.

Taika and Y/n stood behind the cameras, surrounded by monitors, talking over the next scene. Coffee in both their hands, headphones resting around Y/n’s neck as she said in her director chair. Hair tied back into a tight bun, trying to hide the hair that she wasn’t able to wash in a week. Although she looked fresh and very put together, she was exhausted. She covered up the dark circles under her eyes with light makeup and the smile was a constant on her face.

Scarlett was sitting in her makeup chair, getting the final touches from the makeup artist. Her eyes were on her girlfriend through the mirror watching as she was giving out orders to the set designers and camera men. Y/n was very different on set than she was at home. At work, she looked confident and sure of her voice and job, looking like a real professional who’s been doing this for years. But at home, in the safety of their little bubble, she was very insecure and fearful of the work she’s been doing. Scarlett couldn’t tell her enough how amazing she was at her job and that she had nothing to worry about. Sometimes Y/n just went with the flow and accepted her girlfriend’s praises and even believed them, which made her calmer at work. Mostly she just acted like she was putting up this front but in reality, she was scared of every little move she made on her own set.

“She’s doing pretty well so far,” the makeup artist’s voice brought Scarlett out of her daydream. “What?” “Y/n. She’s doing a great job,” repeated the woman. “Oh yeah, she’s awesome.” The actress hid her smile and the blush that crept up her cheeks.

Filming scene by scene, everyone knew that this movie was something that will be very well put together. Y/n has shown great potential at directing and producing, which she obviously didn’t feel but everyone else did.

Weeks went by and there was less and less filming needed and it all seemed very real for the young director. Taika was always there to remind Y/n that she has been doing incredible. But she always said, “We’ll see when it comes out.” She was right but so was Taika.

As the last two weeks of shooting rolled around, the marketing team organized an interview/behind-the-scenes video for the cast. The actors and directors each shared their thoughts on the filming and their cast mates and crew.

***

Inside Jojo Rabbit - Behind the scenesnes

“The first time we thought about the movie, we were sure we wanted this to be funny. And while writing the script, we didn’t know how far we should take this comedic relief, so we took it the furthest we could.” Shared Y/n Cole, director and writer of the movie.

Taika Waititi as Imaginary Adolf:

“Through the whole writing process, I always had Taika in mind for Hitler’s role. Of course not because they are so similar, but because I couldn’t imagine someone else being so… accepting of this role and taking it seriously, in an acting way. It’s a very complex character and Taika is the only one I think who understands the purpose of this figure. When you play a character so questionable or any kind of character, as an actor you have to lose any judgment to play them and he was able to create this whole other person with his acting but also be authentic towards the character,” said Y/n.

Scarlett Johansson as Rosie Betzler:

“Scarlett’s screen test was the only one I could not be present at because I was working, but Taika called me right after she was done. The only thing he said on the phone was, I think I just hired Scarlett Johansson as Rosie and you’re gonna love her so much. Okay, bye. I have to go. And he hung up. Then as pre-production rolled in, and then the table read, seeing Scarlett and Roman interact and act out the scenes, I was so happy that she was the one for this role because she’s the kind of person who takes the role and cherishes it with care and it fits her so well.”

“When we were talking about her role, it was clear that this type of comedic but also serious and responsible mother character was new in her career but not in her everyday life. And when at specific scenes the actors are free to improvise, she’s so quick and witty with her parts and I think that’s definitely a relief for us that we have actors who are incredibly professional but also able to contribute to the creative process if that makes sense.”

Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo Betzler.

“I was very excited about this role and the casting of it but also terrified. But when we met Roman, all my worries disappeared. The whole screen test was about 25 minutes, and he did not take his eyes off Taika. You know… it’s hard to have a character like his but also make the audience love him or to think about his point of view, not just go like oh gosh he’s supporting Hitler, he’s horrible. Finding Roman was a changing point. When you look at him, you only think that he’s the cutest and sweetest kid.”

“He is the kindest little human, an honest gentleman who is a complete professional and a kid blessed with amazing acting skills. Roman has such a fresh approach towards acting since this is his first time doing it, and he is willing to learn from anybody who gives him any advice. You know… being surrounded with actors like Scarlett, Taika or like Sam Rockwell, at the end he gained so much experience and just little secrets about acting.”

“But also he is such an appreciative boy. Whenever he wasn’t shooting and I had time off too, we’d rate the food and candy we had on set, and one time, I had a very bad day. I was tired and frustrated and he came to my trailer with a basket full of things that I liked so far and we watched cartoons for the rest of the day. The next day, he came up to me and said, thank you for choosing me for the role and I’m so happy to work with you. My heart melted. He has the biggest heart and besides that, he’s an amazing actor.”

Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa Korr:

“Taika was the one who suggested Thomasin for this part since he knew her prior. And as production was getting along, and we got to know each other better, I recognized so much of Thomasin in Elsa’s character and I find that so interesting. Working as an actor you don’t realize how much your co-stars are similar with their roles because you're so focused on how you would actualize your character, but seeing everyone from the third person’s view, it was easier to see these things.”

“I especially like the dynamic between Elsa and Rosie. Thomasin and Scarlett had this incredibly great chemistry and with Rosie being the mother figure to Elsa, I think they did such an amazing job with the scenes.”

Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf:

“Captain K has been one of my favorite characters since the beginning of the whole process. Whenever I wrote a scene with him, I just wanted to make him as sarcastic as possible. Him being a gay natzi I think was so ironic and drama-like so when Sam Rockwell came up as a possibility, I was pushing until he got the part.”

“His character has this similarity with Jojo, that you have to make the audience like him. But he also has these elements that make him more like someone who you’d love as a character. You can already see from the beginning that he is so done with this war and on top of that he has to train all these kids. Captain K is definitely one of the more chaotic comedic reliefs in the movie, which Sam did an amazing job doing.”

“While being a natzi captain, he is also a lowkey ally. In particular scenes you can see that he actually has other opinions about the whole natzi thing but rather goes with what is expected from him as a man and captain during this time, and I think it makes him a complex and mysterious character too.”

Y/n Coles as director, producer, screenwriter

Y/n:

“At first I was very nervous about playing the director’s part. I didn’t really think about doing it, I was just like… you know I wrote this with Taika, I'm sure he will do a great job with it. But he insisted that I direct it and produce it. Still, terrified. But here we are.”

“As the whole casting part was over and it started getting very real, I sat down with Taika and asked him, did we just ruin our career? He looked at me, took a deep breath, and said, I guess we’ll know when it’s in theaters. So yeah, that’s how we started filming.”

“When the script was finished, I didn’t know who to give it to read it first. I was very afraid of how people are gonna actually react with now the real thing in their hands. My dad was my first choice and I gave it to him, but he asked me to pitch him the idea. And I was like, you can’t be serious, there’s no way I will tell you a sentence about this movie that will make you want to watch it. He handed me back the pages and I had to give it to him when I had a pitch speech. But I kinda have one so…”

“Jojo Rabbit is about a boy, who lives in Natzi Germany and his imaginary friend/father figure is Hitler. But as the war continues he finds himself opening up his view about the world and what he has believed so far. Kind of… It’s still not perfect, just watch the movie.”

Taika:

“Working with Y/n was amazing. She has such a creative mind and just such a great approach toward her work. Actually, she’s the one who keeps me in line. She was the real boss around here while also being the most fun and loving person. I guess it was because she wasn’t dressed as Hitler while directing, that’s probably easier.”

“When we first thought about the idea of making a movie of this story, she was scared of the comedy part of it. I was like okay yeah, try to write something, write a scene then we’ll get back to it. A week later, she sent me the opening scene. The one you see in the beginning. Not a line has changed ever since she wrote it. The rest is history.”

“As an actor, she knew how to treat the actors while directing. Her attitude was just brilliant. She’s a genius. It was her first time directing and producing but she killed it, absolutely killed it. When she wanted to add an element we haven't discussed prior, she was really passionate about it. Her ideas are well thought over and amazing, but making it real was how I think she won over everyone.”

Scarlett:

“Y/n and I became friends before pre-production started and she voiced her concern about her directorial debut a lot of times. She was very scared about people not taking her seriously because of her age and “lack of experience”. But you know a woman like Y/n, she has that kind of posture that you don’t see in every director. She is an amazing actor and that definitely contributes to how she works as a director. Y/n has her own methods already on how to make her ideas real and how to speak with us to understand her vision.”

“The first time I read the script I was just so impressed with her writing skills. The dialogues she wrote are just so so good. And she is very shy about her work so whenever someone compliments her creation she's way too humble about it.”

“Y/n is a very approachable person and I think that is one of the reasons why it is so easy to work with her. She is direct with her words and thoughts which is always helpful for the actors, especially if there are kids involved. Y/n speaks their language so naturally and her connection with Roman definitely helped him to reach his best in the movie.”

Roman:

“Y/n is the best director I’ve ever worked with. Even if she’s the first one.”

“She is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and she is very kind. She gives the best advice and I think she is easy to understand and doesn’t use these crazy words to explain what I have to do, so it was great to work with her.”

“But she’s also very fun when she’s not wearing the headphones and sits in her chair. Whenever she has free time she makes sure I’m okay and spends time with me. We often read lines together too, which is very cool.”

Thomasin:

“Y/n is the first female director I’ve worked with so far and she put the stakes very high for the next ones. She was just fantastic, truly.”

“When you first see her, you think she’s a beautiful young woman who is an actress. A lot of people actually don’t know how witty and how comedic her personality is. We always have fun with her on set.”

“I especially loved how Y/n gave us instructions. It was great because both she and Taika are actors and know what they need to understand a certain scene. Her instructions are always very straightforward but she’s also very flexible with how we play, which is I think very unique of her.”

Sam Rockwell:

“I’ve been following Y/n’s work for a while now and I think she’s a phenomenal actress. And because of that, I was very curious about her as a director.”

“On the first table read she was very reserved and observing, and I was very surprised that she’s so quiet and kinda lets Taika talk forever. But on the next one, she knew how all of us were and how to work with us, you know. She basically did a test run in her head on how this is going to work, oh Sam does this and Roman speaks like this, so she was just silently putting the whole picture together.”

“Although, what I was not expecting, is that she took her part in basically everything. She had ideas for the costumes, the buildings, and every type of artistic element. It is very important for her to not only show the darker ones of the time but like the light of it, which is very hard to find.”

***

It was done. The last scene has finished and everyone who worked in the film was standing in the room, looking at Taika and Y/n. The man gave his speech, making everyone laugh with his words, then looked at his directing partner who had tears in her eyes, holding them back with every strength in her body. Y/n got the mic and stepped forward.

“I don’t even know where to start…” She cleared her throat, scared to even look at her cast. “First of all I’d like to apologize for crying in the upcoming minutes, look past it please, I’m a mess as you can tell,” she chuckled tearfully.

She lifted her eyes to Scarlett who had the proudest smile on her face seeing her girl shine was something she’ll cherish forever.

The room was silent and everyone was listening to her words.

“Gosh uhm… I never thought that I would be here when I wrote this with Taika and it’s still surreal to me that we are standing here, with endless footage of the script. Firstly, I’d like to thank the crew who helped us create this amazing experience. The hair and makeup department, the costume department, the sound, camera, light crew, and our amazing set designers who made every little detail look incredible. Without all of you, we wouldn’t have a movie like this, our actors wouldn’t look like they just stepped out on the street in the 40s, and for that, I am so thankful,” she said and a round of applause filled the silence.

Y/n turned around and saw Taika standing with his hands in his pockets, also teary-eyed but with a big smile on his face.

“Without this man, I probably wouldn’t be crying here in front of you all. Taika, I will be forever and after that, grateful for you, that you pushed me and not saying that I was crazy for wanting to do a film about Nazis. You’ve been a mentor to me for years and I wouldn’t wish for anyone else. You did nothing but encourage me throughout the whole process so far and I adore you for that. I could not thank you enough for this,” the tears slid down her pink cheeks as Taika gave her a nod.

Then she looked at the cast. Her vision was slightly blurry from the tears but she saw every single one of them. Y/n could even see the tears in Scarlett’s eyes and that Roman was silently crying by her side.

“Oh gosh and you guys,” Y/n spoke but the knot in her throat made her stop for a second. “I don’t think I’ll ever have the words to express how much love I have for every single one of you. You made these characters alive, you gave them a voice, a face. Nobody would’ve done a better job than you and I wouldn’t wish for anyone else. You guys are incredible actors but mostly exceptional people. The work you all put into this project is everything we could’ve asked for and more. One day I hope we’ll work together again because I just love all of you with my whole heart.”

“This was an experience that I will never forget. You were the ones who helped me begin this amazing amazing journey. I don’t think I will ever be able to express the gratitude that I have for everyone in this room. Thank you for supporting me and believing in me despite my lack of experience. What I’m trying to say is that I love you and thank you for being a part of this amazing voyage.” She put her hands together like she was ready to pray but she bowed for their love.

y/ncole: and that’s a wrap on Jojo Rabbit!❤️ the love that was present on our set everyday was something I’ll never forget. Our cast and crew is filled with amazing people and I’ll be thanking you all for the rest of my life for making the start of this journey for me the best experience ever! Jojo Rabbit is something I can’t wait for everyone to see. The love this movie represents is something unique and special. I am biased but it truly is. Jojo Rabbit is coming to you next year, all love until then!❤️

#scarlett johansson x reader #scarlett johansson x you #scarlett johansson imagines #scarlett Johansson #scarlett johansson x female reader #gxg

[winedad16]

14. Broken Bricks, Falling Walls

Masterlist

Previous Post

Warning(s) for:

Alluded Anti-Semitism

April 3rd, 1945

30:00:00:00

      Rosie was in trouble. There was no denying that. Looking on in horror, Freddy’s hands trembled as Klaus picked up the bike that laid on the stone walkway.

“I wonder who would leave behind such a nice bike,” The captain wondered aloud.

“It’s Rosie’s.” Freddy quickly said. 

      He was sure of it. He had seen it propped against the Betzler’s home many times. It had to be hers.

“Rosie’s?” Realization quickly donned Klaus’ face. “Jojo didn’t come in today.”

“He didn’t.”

      With no words spared, Klaus handed off his briefcase, slinked his arm beneath the bike, and hastily set off towards the Betzler home; Freddy not too far behind. 

“Do you have any idea of what could have happened?” Klaus quietly asked.

“I don’t,” Freddy replied. “Rosie is bold but not stupid.”

      Truthfully, Freddy worried that Paul had been caught while away in Italy, but decided that a public setting wasn’t the time to get into such specifics. He was more concerned for the well-being of the remaining Betzler family and what their future would look like if it were the case. He had heard rumors of what would happen and today wasn’t the day to learn if it was true.

      A bit breathlessly, they rushed through the already wide-open door and into the foyer of the Betzler home, letting out a sigh of relief to see Jojo standing there. Setting the bike aside, as well as the ridiculous formalities, Klaus did his best to survey the situation, scanning the room for Rosie, who was nowhere in sight, while Freddy considered the best way to get Jojo out of any trouble. Outside of the inspection clearly not being routine as Deertz insisted, neither Klaus nor Freddy could properly assess what had happened leading up to this moment. As Klaus quickly came up with a reason for their sudden arrival, he felt as though Deertz was towering over him, as if he was the officer’s prey, the other man’s eyes intense and focused.

      Watching as Deertz stalked down the halls of the Betzler home and into Jojo’s room, Klaus and Freddy followed behind, both wondering what would happen in the following few minutes, on edge, but nothing that they couldn’t mask for the time being. Freddy feared for the worst when he heard the commotion in the rooms above them all, the conversations that he and Rosie shared about Paul flashing through his mind. He could only share a glance with Klaus as they trudged up the stairs, reluctant to learn more, but unable to look away.

“Do you know where your mother is?” Deertz asked, never once looking at Jojo, but keeping a watchful eye upon everything being strewn across Rosie’s bedroom.

      As the questions continued, Klaus became frightfully aware of the change in Jojo’s demeanor. When Deertz questioned the state of the young boy’s uniform, it took everything in him to not shout, leave him alone!

      Then, suddenly, a female voice rang out, and all eyes were on her, the room silent and its intruders motionless. The “her” in question was a young woman, maybe eighteen years of age, but not any older. In a matter of seconds, everything clicked into place for Freddy. All those times he had heard the house creak when he visited— All those times in which Rosie had referred to something seemingly unimportant— All those times in which he thought nothing of it. He did his best not to stare, but her presence had his attention. 

      When the young woman had stated her name, Inge, Klaus couldn’t help but look between the two. He was aware that Jojo had an older sister, such information had been shared the year prior by Paul, but he imagined her to be older, possibly out of town, just based on how little Jojo spoke of her. Exiting Rosie’s bedroom, he felt as though something wasn’t right. Following behind Klaus, Deertz and Co., Freddy passed faux Inge in the doorway to her bedroom, making brief eye contact with the girl, praying that Rosie had told Inge about him. That somehow, she would know that he was on her side as Deertz rattled on with his analogies about those he sought to clean the world of… But, when Klaus ushered the order of her paperwork, his heart sank. 

      Of course, what he didn’t know was how much Klaus was trying to move everything along in time to get to Rosie. When Klaus received Inge’s paperwork, he conducted a routine question, one in which he would normally skip if he weren’t in front of the captain of the Gestapo. Much to his shock, she has gotten her own birthday wrong. He stared at her with realization, not once letting the horror that was creeping into his stomach show on his face, before confirming the information as correct and issuing the papers back to her. 

“Wait.” Deertz interjected, making both Klaus and Freddy’s hearts skip a beat.

      The relief that Klaus felt when Deertz didn’t go for the young girl’s paperwork would only be enough to subside the anxiety bubbling in his gut momentarily, as when Deertz landed on the book by Inge’s side, it began to come back. He did his best to force a laugh at the despicable content, Freddy echoing one just as fake but believable enough, but couldn’t help but imagine how deep of trouble Rosie had gotten herself and Jojo into. When the Gestapo lackeys exited the bedroom, Klaus issued faux Inge and Jojo a brief goodbye, instructed Jojo to stay home, and quietly exited the home with Finkel by his side.

“You’ve been keeping quite the eye on that one,” Captain Deertz called out to Klaus from his car, a wide unnatural smile across his face. “He’s the ideal picture of youth that our country needs and it’s clear he didn’t get it from his mother.”

“His mother?” Klaus feigned ignorance. “What of her?”

“She was caught this morning spreading anti-party sentiments. It’s quite the shame, really. I quite liked her husband when he was still with us,” Deertz checked his watch. “Well, we’ve ought to head out. Got to take care of business back at the office. Give us a ring if you need. Heil Hitler.”

      Both Klaus and Freddy gave him an unsteady goodbye, watching as the black car drove off with bated breaths.

“There’s nothing we can do now, can we?” Freddy softly asked. “Is there any way one of us could talk to her?”

“I don’t believe so, no.” 

      Freddy placed his hand over his mouth in thought, the pit in his stomach growing as his fingers trembled.

“Let’s go back to the office,” Klaus suggested. “It’s about time we send everyone home.”

      The walk back was silent, and so was their time in the office. Few words were exchanged with Ida, who was already heading out the door by the time they had arrived, and most of the children had begun to filter out without instruction. Klaus paid no mind to the lack of respect for his authority, it didn’t feel that important at the time, but made sure to bade each child a goodnight, watching as each one stepped outside. After Freddy collected their things and locked the office’s doors behind them, they set out towards their flat, backs turned to the gallows that imposed its presence more than it ever had before.

      Once the door to their home was closed and locked, the outside world as far away as they could get it, Freddy let out a tense breath and blinked away the tears that threatened to fall.

“Damnit,” He muttered. “What do we do?”

      Klaus shook his head and pulled Freddy into a hug.

“I don’t know… I don’t know.”

      They both sunk into the hug, the stress of the situation being released from their bodies for only a moment, before returning back to reality.

“That girl— Inge,” Klaus began quietly. “She got her birthday wrong.”

      Freddy sighed. 

“I’m not surprised,” He took a step back, hands resting on Klaus’ hips. “Inge died last year, Klaus. She was sick. It’s just been Rosie and Johannes.”

“So, the girl, she’s most likely…” Klaus’ heart felt heavier when Freddy replied with a silent nod.

“Rosie hid it incredibly well. I never saw or heard anything out of the ordinary. I wish I knew, I could have done more."

“Maybe it’s best you didn’t,” Klaus suggested. “She kept it a secret for a reason.”

“I guess so.” A moment of silence passed before the sub-officer took a step back. “I ought to go down, to say something, do something–”

“Freddy-” Klaus lightly grabbed his arm. “There is nothing we can do without making things worse for her or implicating ourselves. If we all go, no one is going to be left behind to watch those children. What would Rosie want?”

      Freddy took a deep breath and ran his hands over his face, standing with his own thoughts for just a moment as Klaus relinquished his grasp.

“Alright,” He thickly swallowed, defeated. “Alright.”

***

      In bed, later that night, Freddy turned to face Klaus in the bed across from him, their blood shot eyes meeting the other’s.

“Do you remember what Deertz said about Paul?” He asked, prompting Klaus to shift a bit closer.

“Vaguely, yes,” He replied. “Why?”

“The way he worded things… It made it sound like Paul was… Well, dead.”

“I'm sure that’s not the case. It’s just the distance from us to him.”

“Hm,” A beat. Freddy furrowed his brow. “I’m sure Rosie would have said something if he was, but… Klaus…” He leaned in closer to whisper, “He abandoned his station. He left to meet someone in Italy.”

      Klaus tensed. 

“He did? When?”

“Sometime last year. He told me before he left the hospital. I promised to both him and Rosie to never tell a soul but now…”

“I understand,” Klaus assured. “I respect you for it. I can only imagine where he is right now, it seems as though Rosie did keep some things under lock and key,” He paused. “It’s hard to know who to trust these days.”

“Yes.”

      A moment passed, any remains of the conversation leaving for another day.

“Freddy?”

“Yes?” 

“I love you. I’m lucky to have you.”

      Freddy sadly smiled and extended his hand across the empty space between their beds and loosely intertwined his fingers with the captain’s.

“I love you too.”

      Time passed, maybe an hour, maybe a little less, and Klaus soon fell asleep, his hand no longer connected to Freddy’s, now lying limp by the side of his bed. This was just enough confirmation for the sub-officer, who quietly eased himself to an upwards position, before tip-toeing out of bed, and kneeling down to pray; For the first time in years.

Next Part (Currently Unavailable)

#freddy finkel #captain klenzendorf #captain k #jojo rabbit #finkeldorf #ao3 #fan fiction #sam rockwell #alfie allen #klenzendorf x finkel

[lesbian-deadpool]

Saving Rosie

Part One of Two: “I’m Not A Spy.”

Rosie Betzer x Reader

Words: 5,768

Warnings: WWII (and everything that comes with that era), Nazis, spy shit, arguing, alludes to execution, sadness... I think that may be it.

Request: No.

Summary: You save the woman you have grown close to over the past few years you have been undercover as a Nazi general, and now you’re going to save her family.

A/N: Me, still broken after watching Jojo Rabbit almost a year and a half ago?? It’s more likely than you think... so, apparently I write Rosie Beltzer fics now lol

Also, just some lil notes. The reader in this is undercover as a male Nazi general, and they’re not actually German in this fic.

EDIT: I accidentally tagged this as a Natasha fic lmao. I fixed it now tho.

Ko-Fi

Commissions

(Not My GIF)

***

"It's a lovely night for it, huh?"

For what? You weren't 

certain. Maybe it was the full moon. Maybe, it was the clear sky. The deserted streets, perhaps... what loomed in the following days to come.

Or maybe, just maybe. It was the woman by your side.

The woman hummed, a small sweet smile caressing her face.

"One of the better ones we've had in years. Came her strong German accent. A stark difference to yours, considering you no longer had to mask it. Around her, anyway.

Your smile mirrored hers as it brightened.

"It sure is."

"I can't believe it's almost over. And after so long..." she said, while you grunted, sitting down beside her on the small roof over the open attic window. "This unjust war is finally coming to an end."

"Okay, you're starting to sound like my commander now."

Rosie chuckled at your words, moving to softly lean into your side, keeping her head up to continue looking at the bright white stars that littered the midnight blue sky.

"Why do you always insist on meeting up here?" you grumbled, no malice in your voice, "It's a pain in the ass to get up onto the roof, from the outside, y'know?"

"You're a spy, aren't you? Aren't you supposed to be good at this stuff?"

"Oh cheeky," you laughed, lightly slapping the side of her leg, with the back of your hand. Rosie's quiet giggles following your remark, "And I'm an undercover soldier. Those are two very different things."

"Still." She shrugged.

You sat in silence for a small while. Over the few years, you and Rosie had grown close. Meeting up on her rooftop, at the dead of night, where there was no chance of anyone seeing you together, this way, becoming an almost every day occurrence.

You knew you could trust her the moment you first met, almost three years ago. After you had stolen the identity of a Nazi officer, that looked starkly like you. Luckily, there was hardly any information about this person. So, there was less chance for your cover to be blown.

Soon, the resistance that Rosie had been deeply a part of was un-earthed to you, thanks to your informant and the letter she carried. It wasn't long after that you started working with them too. Helping them better than they could ever hope, thanks to the military resources and information you brought.

"What happened to your neck?" Rosie asked, pulling you out from where you were, deep in your memories.

A hand came up to rub at your slightly sore skin.

"My informant can be cruel..."

Rosie cocked a blonde eyebrow at you, wanting an explanation from you.

You sighed, getting ready to tell her.

***

Eyes burned into the woman from all sides as her heels kicked against the polished wooden, yet stained, floor. Her light brown hair shone under the glowing lights, confidence radiating from her just the same.

"Can I help you?" a German Soldier slid in front of her, she had to stop herself from sneering at the man. For both his being a Nazi and his sweaty stench. But instead, she managed a sultry smirk.

"I'm here to see your General," she replied, in a German accent.

"Don't bother," another Soldier, this one drunk and slightly swaying, called over, from where he was pressed into the wall a few feet behind her.

"I don't think your General would take too kindly to you stealing what they paid for."

"They're gonna have fun with you," he replied, blatantly looking her up and down. Like a wolf would, to a tiny bunny, ready to devour it whole. However, the wolf was not a wolf at all, the wolf was, in fact, the bunny, and the bunny was the actual wolf.

She would tear him to shreds, given the chance.

"The General is in the usual room," the original man said, "Fair warning, though. They're not in a good mood today."

The woman began strutting down the hallway, once again. Throwing, "Aren't they always?" over her shoulder once she passed him by.

When she opened the thick wooden door you resided behind, the sounds of your continued groan began pouring through the crack.

"Sometimes I cannot believe that you got this assignment," she uttered in her original London accent, with her back pressed against the now-closed door.

You finished your groan off and took a deep breath before you uttered your reply.

"Luck-of-the-draw, I guess," you spoke from the floor where you lay on your back, with a shrug, "That, or I look strikingly alike the guy who died. The Nazi prick."

She walked over to you, one foot rising to press her heel into your neck, your thyroid resting in the open space of the shoe.

A choking noise sprang from your mouth as you flailed your limbs around gently. You knew that if she were to press any harder, she would surely manage to choke you.

"You're not suited for this job."

The brunette pressed harder against your throat before she released you. Leaving you to turn on your side, coughing and spluttering.

"Well, no shit. I'm a soldier, not a spy."

"You can tell."

"What was that all about?" You motioned to your neck. Red marks already making their way upon the tender flesh.

"We need to make it seem like we are having sex. Remember? I am supposed to be your hooker after all."

"You're a bitch, is what you are."

She scowled at you as you rolled yourself onto your stomach, sighing when you finally got to your feet.

"Where's the update?"

You hummed, almost as if you were remembering what you were here to do. Removing the crystal tumbler from your lips the whisky sloshing around inside. Reaching behind you, you pulled the file from where it was tucked into your pants and under your shirt. Handing it over to her.

"Is this it?" She asked, weighing the file in her hand, "It's very light."

"Yeah, and so's the information swimming around. Unless you wanna hear about the fish Agatha caught last weekend," you snarked back, moving to point at the file with the same hand that held your glass, "There's some good stuff in there. It's not much. But it's good."

"I'll take your word for it."

She tucked the folder into the long overcoat she wore, then you saw her eyebrows furrow.

"Aren't you supposed to take care of that?" She nodded towards the uniform jacket you had thrown across the room not long after you had entered it.

"You sneered at the fore-talked about item.

"I hate it and everything it stands for." You turned back to face her. "As soon as all of this bullshit is over, I'm burning that fucking armband. And then the rest of the fucking uniform."

"Real calm there, aren't you?"

"Don't start shit with me, Hannah." You took a large swig of your drink, almost emptying the glass. "I know that you wish you had somehow gotten this mission. But trust me, you don't fucking want it. The shit I've seen and done. The stuff that I've had to authorise, just to keep my cover. The fucking horror storied these monsters have told proudly, or as if they're fucking jokes." You were panting now. "You don't want that."

You had her startled into silence. Hannah had never expected this to come from you.

"How's the resistance?"

You grunted. Downing the rest of the brown liquor before moving to pour yourself another glass three fingers tall.

"It's going." you gave a heavy nod. "Still trying to spread the word."

Hannah hummed, slowly making her way towards you. Fingers coming up to razzle her hair, and wipe her lipstick, so it smudged onto her cheek.

"How's the blonde?"

"What-?" you were cut off when she wiped the red lipstick on her fingers across your own lips, leaving a smudge like hers there. "Ugh," you groaned, moving away from her palm, only to utter small obscenities and sounds of pain when her lipstick freehand messed up your short, slicked-back hair.

"What blonde?" you finally managed to ask.

"The one from the resistance. What's her name?" She clicked her fingers together, in realisation, "Rosie."

"Oh! Yeah, she's fine, and so are the kids."

"You seem to be taking a shine to her, from what I hear from the resistance. You and Rosie seem to be something of a dynamic duo."

Suddenly your shirt was ripped open, from the collar to your ribs. Making your eyes widen in shock.

However, you were used to this by now, so they soon returned back to their regular size.

"Yeah, we're friends."

Hannah hummed, something akin to a knowing smirk on her face. As she untucked your shirt.

"I'd keep an eye on her, though."

She opened your pants.

"She's being watched."

Breathless at what she just said, you stood stock still, watching as she walked towards the wooden door.

"Oh." Hannah stopped, her hand upon the handle, pulling some pieces of paper from her pocket and threw them to the floor, "I'll leave you to deliver the bad news."

And with that, she left.

***

You forewent telling Rosie everything from the mention of her.

Thinking it the best if she heard it differently.

"That really sounds like a spy meeting to me," Rosie said with a smirk, knowing it would annoy you to no end.

You closed your eyes before you could roll them into the back of your head. Taking a deep breath, you exhaled, "I'm not a spy."

"So, you've said," she giggled.

"You're drunk," you mumbled to yourself.

"What was that?"

"How are the kids?" you asked, clearly watching as Rosie groaned lightly. Her head down-turned, almost sad looking.

"Jojo's still obsessed with Hitler and everything. And Elsa's doing her best. But I can tell how much this is affecting her. And in what world wouldn't it?"

"She's strong." You nodded. "She'll get through it. We all will."

"And what about Jojo?"

Rosie turned to face you, hair swaying as she did. You could see the glazed look in her eye's, telling yourself to be extra vigilant with the woman upon the roof. You had to make sure she didn't fall off in her drunken state.

"Is he going to be like this for the rest of his life?"

Tears were building in her eyes now.

"Supporting evil dictators, wanting to take over the world, and fill it with hate?"

"No. No, of course not," you whispered. Reaching over, you clasped her cheeks between your rough, war-hardened hands. Wiping away her silent tears. "He's just a boy. A boy who wants to be a part of something, even if he doesn't understand what that is. What monster's he's following. He will realise one day. Trust me."

"I trust you." She nodded. "It just. It's hard. It's so hard. Especially when he plays up, like he did at dinner today."

"He did?"

She hummed with a nod.

"We're low on food right now. I had to go without to feed Elsa. But Jojo, he didn't know, obviously, so he took that too. Then he started arguing about his father-"

You inhaled sharply, shoulders tensing. But luckily for you, she didn't notice your reaction.

"-I yelled at him... we made up not long after, but I still feel awful about it. I'm a terrible mother."

"No, you're not-"

"I am-"

"No. You're not," you said firmly. Grabbing her forearm, gently moving it side to side, to get your point further across, "You're such a caring and amazing person. Your heart is so big and kind. And you're an even better mother. It's like all of that is doubled for those kids."

"Thank you," Rosie whispered, tears in her eyes once again, before she moved to wipe them away.

"Anyway, you're way better than my mother. She abandoned me at a farm. I was lucky a cow didn't shit on me."

She giggled at your little joke.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"There's no need. I wouldn't change it."

Things were quiet for a few minutes when you suddenly remembered.

"Oh!" You reached into your pocket and pulled out three packages, wrapped in brown paper and tied together with string. "I guess it was just lucky that I brought these then."

"What are they?"

"Beef sandwiches, I thought you would like them."

"Oh, you're a lifesaver," she spoke in something close to a moan as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

You gave a small chuckle at the woman seated beside you, "I'd thought you'd say that. I'll have to start bringing food over to these meetings of ours because it's not like I can do it out in the open."

"People would think something was going on between us," Rosie hummed.

"You're right about that. Everyone is so bored around here. Gossip is like their life sauce."

"Would you be surprised if I told you that it was the same before the war?"

"Not at all," you laughed.

Rosie finished her sandwich, and you dreaded what was coming next.

"I need to tell you something," you almost whispered.

She bumped her shoulder against yours when you didn't continue.

"Well? What is it?"

"It... it's about your husband..."

You watched her carefully as you said that, all the while emotions, flew into her while she processed them.

She held back more tears, ones from the look on her face that she had shed more times than she could count. Face contoured into one of concealed pain. Looking away from your gentle, caring eyes while rubbing her hands together.

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so." You nodded, looking out before you, into the starry night sky.

That's when you felt a tiny jolt beside you. Looking over at the blonde, you watched as a tear trickled down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry," you whispered.

With a gasp and a wet sniff, Rosie wiped her tears away.

"What happened?"

"There was a raid, some members of a resistance was there, your husband included. None of them made it... they saved the people they intended to, however."

She nodded with a sad yet proud smile.

"How long ago was this?"

You swallowed. Hating the words you were about to say.

"A little over a year ago."

You winced when you heard her sobs, ones being held in so hard just so no one could overhear her cries.

And, sickeningly so, the worst thing of all was that you didn't know how to help her.

Placing a hand upon her back, rubbing small comforting circles into her shoulder. Feeling her lean into you, face now pushed into your neck.

"I'm here. Everything's going to be alright."

You left not too long later, after already spending way too much time up on that roof.

Rosie wished you a "goodbye" with the promise that she would be fine. However, she didn't reply to you when you told her not to finish the rest of the wine. That she had been pounding for the majority of the day.

Before you arrived "home" and promptly collapsed onto the bed.

***

The afternoon sun was warm upon your face as you walked the streets of the German town. Watching as children ran around, women worked, and well, gossiped, and Nazi soldiers came and went.

Soon. You thought. This will all be over soon.

That's when you heard the murmured words from the women you had just walked past.

"Yes, the Gestapo. They're here right now."

"Who for?" the other woman asked, voice slightly higher at the aspect of such "juicy" gossip.

Sometimes it surprised you just how detached some of these people were from human lives. But then you took a step back and saw everything that was happening in the world. And you weren't surprised anymore. Just disappointed.

"The traitors wife. Beltzer."

And now you were scared.

"-They should be taking her to the square, right now."

It was like the world had slowed down as you turned to look at them, meeting their curious eyes.

The last thing you heard before taking off at a run towards the town square was a fading, "Like husband, like wife. I guess."

The people you passed by looked at you like you were insane. To see a, what they thought, General, sprinting down streets and panting like crazy, it set them on edge.

But you didn't give a damn about what anybody thought.

You just had to get to the square.

And quick.

***

By the time you got there, you had a light shine over your skin. Thanks to the sweat from both the running you had done and the worry that coursed through you.

"Remove your hands from her," came your faux German accent.

"She is a traitor to the Reich," one of the Gestapo's, seemingly the leader, replied assuredly.

"And what proof do you have of this?"

Rosie was terrified. You could see that as clear as day, no matter how she tried to keep calm. It was written all over her face.

So, you forcefully pushed their hands from the heavily breathing woman and pulling her to stand by your side and away from the group of men dressed in black suits.

"I'll have you know, we have very probable tips from some of the community-"

""Probable"?!" you shouted, causing the on edge woman beside you to jump slightly. To which you pulled her closer to you as a form of comfort. Your hand, coming to rest on her shoulder.

"Yes. Probable. We cannot have risks."

"Well, I say that it is bullshit."

"You have no jurisdiction or authority over our department."

"And I never said I did. I am saying that I vouch for this woman."

"But the tip-off's-" another man began.

"You choose to believe lonely and bored housewives over a General?!" You watched as their faces fell, and they tried to grab onto any straw they could to change your mind.

"There is still a chance-"

"There is no chance!"

"And can you be so sure?!"

"Do you really believe that I, a General, would be with her if you were right?"

"With her?" a third Gestapo asked curiously.

You knew what you had to do to get her back home, safe and away from the men trying to execute and make a spectacle of her. Just like the poor people hanging to your right.

"It means that I have been seeing her. Romantically, if you still do not fully understand, what I mean."

They didn't say anything for a few short moments, only stumbling and stuttering over their own voices.

"So, tell me. Who are you choosing to believe?"

"Uh. Y-You General."

"Good." You nodded once. "Now, I'm going to take her home. Goodbye, gentlemen," you spat. Turning on your heel, with Rosie under your arm, and walking away.

"Are you okay?" you whispered. Not drawing any attention to yourself or Rosie.

"I'm fine. Thank you for saving me," she replied in the same way.

"I wouldn't have done anything else." Your hand slipped down to the blondes dip in her lower back, helping to guide her back home. "Where are the flyers? Did you have any on you?"

"Yes. I threw them down the drain before they could see."

"Good. You did good." A squeeze to her hip before your hand returned to her lower back, just to keep up the appearance of the lie. "They're not gonna find them."

***

Rosie had relaxed more by the time you were at the bottom of her street when you saw a distinctly expensive car parked outside of Rosie's house. A car that everyone knows belongs to that of Gestapo's.

"Is Jojo home?" you asked, just stood there starring at the sight, with Rosie by your side.

"Yes," she husked.

"Shit."

And that's when you both broke out in a run.

You, being faster than Rosie, arrived at the building first. Barging through the door, with her hot on your heels.

Pounding your way up the stairs, only to come face to face with a gang of men, identically dressed to the Gestapo's, you had just saved Rosie from. Along with Jojo and Elsa, in clothes that didn't look like they belonged to her. Not to mention the demoted soldier, holding an identification book.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"What are you doing in my house?!" you and Rosie said at the same time. Your yell angrier, compared to her more so worried one.

"We are searching the premises," the lead man, who wore round glasses, spoke. Face confused as to why Rosie was still alive. But as soon as he saw the anger chiselled upon your face. He could take a successful guess as to who had stopped the execution.

"Mama, they were just checking Inge's identification," Jojo said as his mother rushed towards him. Her hands, on his cheeks, as she checked him over.

"Oh, yes. Of course." Rosie pulled Jojo along to bring Elsa into her side, just as you had done for her mere minutes ago. "Are you both alright?"

She gained words and nods of confirmation from the two children.

"I think it's time that you all left."

"But-" one Gestapo said, looking to Rosie.

"But nothing," you continued, "I'm sure your associates will fill you in on their mistake. Now, if you are finished, I ask that you leave this house."

"We were just about to, anyway," the leader said, leading the way out for everyone. But not before the ID was handed back to the assumed Inge. With you trailing after, to slam the door behind them.

You turned, leaning your back against the wooden door, sighing deeply.

"Are they gone?" Rosie called down, leaning over the railing, to peer down at you.

The stairs creaked below you, the layer of carpet doing nothing to quiet them. You spoke your confirmation, as you reached her, "They're gone."

The kids looked like they had just been caught with their hand's in the cookie jar.

"So..." the caring woman started, "You two know about each other."

They nodded.

"For how long?"

"A couple of weeks, at most," Jojo said.

"How did you even find out about her?"

"I-I found the hatch-"

"He crawled in-"

"And I found her-"

"He was terrified."

"Was not!"

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Okay, enough," Rosie raised her voice, gaining the bickering children's attention.

Taking a breath, she ran her hands through her soft blonde hair.

"And you never told anyone?"

"No." Jojo shook his head. "I didn't want you to get into trouble..." It was at that point, he realised you were silently stood behind his mother, watching as everything unfolded and who you were.

Rosie caught this and looked over her shoulder at you.

"Don't worry," she told both of the kids, crouching down before them. Elsa's face one of mild terror.

This is when it hit you that these kids were exactly that.

Kids.

Kid's that were too scared of their mothers, or motherly figure, scolding them, than the actual, apparent danger that lurked not too far away.

"They're not going to tell anybody. They know. And won't let anything happen. To any of us." she manoeuvred to face you. "Right?"

You nodded. "Absolutely. I will do my best to protect all of you."

"Speaking of." She slowly rose to her feet, walking towards you.

The hand that Rosie placed upon your arm was gentle, almost like she was worried she would hurt you. Fingers curling into the jacket of the uniform you loathed.

"I have to speak with the General. So, you two stay up here. Understood?"

They nodded.

"Good." She pulled you through the open door, but before she could close it fully, her head popped through the door, "Oh. And we're not done yet. We still have a lot to talk about."

Then the door clicked shut.

"You're really good at that."

"What?"

"Being a mother."

"I know. You've told me before."

***

Things had changed rather quickly when you arrived downstairs.

Sat upon the blue cotton cushions of the wooden framed couch. Watching as Rosie paced around in front of you, fingertips rubbing against her full lips, worry etched across her face.

Your eyebrows shot up, and your body straightened when she turned to face you. Arms now down by her sides.

"So, we're together, huh?"

"I'm sorry," you replied, German accent dropped, "But that was the only thing that would get them to back off and drop the suspicions against you."

"I know." She nodded, completely understanding. Before her minimal composure dropped, and the worry came back. "What do we do? Jojo obviously thinks you are a traitor now. What if he tells someone?"

"He won't." You stood abruptly, taking Rosie's shoulder's into your hands, squeezing them gently. "He didn't tell anyone about Elsa when he had so many chances to do so. Hell, he had the chance, not even five minutes ago. But he hasn't said a word, purely just to keep you safe... he doesn't understand that this could hurt him and Elsa too. He doesn't know what's happening."

"But this is different-"

"Yes, it is different. It's better he thinks I'm a traitor, helping his family, than him knowing I'm an undercover soldier."

"You mean a spy?"

"Don't you start with that shit." You pointed at her playfully.

Rosie's smile dropped when a thought popped into her mind.

"Do you think they will still come back?"

"It is possible," you said honestly, "Which is why we should leave as soon as we possibly can."

"And go where?"

"Anywhere that isn't here."

"What do I tell the kids- What do I tell Jojo?" she clarified.

"The truth. You tell them that they could come back and that we all need to leave because we could all be in danger."

With her head in her hand's, the blonde scoffed tearily, "God. This fucking war."

"I know. I know."

You pulled her into your chest, letting her cry into you. Arms wound around your torso tightly.

"I hate it, For so many reasons."

"I know," you repeated again, "I feel the same."

"When will it just end? When will people be safe again?"

Deciding that it would be best to tell her the truth, you said, "I don't know. Soon I hope."

And there you sat, for a small while longer, allowing the blonde to cry into your chest.

***

You had left.

Gone to go gather some of your things, thinking it best to stay with Rosie and the kids while you were forced to stay in town.

All the while Rosie, spoke to the kids about leaving.

"I don't understand why we have to go!"

Was what you were greeted with as you entered the home.

"Because it is not safe for us here anymore," Rosie's voice came, calm but firm.

"But they won't come back."

"That's not entirely true," you spoke, entering the kitchen. Placing the leather bag you carried and the wicker basket upon the small table against the wall, you continued, "There's always a chance, no matter how small."

The young boy watched you silently for a minute. Not knowing what to say.

"Trust me, Jojo. I know how all of this works. I just want to keep you all safe, so does your mother. And this is the best way to do it.2

Jojo sighed.

"Where will we go?"

Rosie looked at you intently when her son asked this, wondering the same thing.

"We'll get out of town first. Then we'll focus on a safe place for us all to go."

"Jojo, would you. Would you go to your room, please?" Rosie asked, "I need to speak with the General, alone."

Just as the blonde boy was about to protest, he was cut off.

"Now. I also have to start preparing dinner."

He huffed and walked from the room, bounding up the stairs rather loudly.

You felt bad for the woman as you watched her grip the sides of the oven, bow her head, and give a great sigh.

"Where's Elsa?"

"She's in her hiding spot." Then she turned to face you. "Y/N, K know that Elsa isn't Inge."

"What?"

"She got Inge's birthday wrong, and he didn't say anything."

Your eye's wandered as you took in the information that was just given to you.

"Do you think he will say anything?"

"I don't know," you said with a shrug, "But I don't wanna take any chances. It's too risky."

"I agree." Rosie nodded once. "So, when do we leave."

"As soon as possible. Tonight if we can. Only pack the essentials. And not yet, we can't raise any suspicions."

Rosie's only reply and indication that she had heard you were a good few nods.

And then.

"What's in the basket?"

"Oh," you said chipperly, "Don't worry about cooking. I brought dinner."

***

Turns out "tonight" wasn't a viable option for skipping town, as with loud, almost deafening sirens of dread filled the sky came the air-raid strike.

"Wouldn't it give us a good cover, though?" Rosie had asked, preparing for bed.

You had resigned yourself to staying over, as a sort of bodyguard, while still in town. And the threat was still very much weighing in the winds.

You looked over your shoulder at her. Being spotted by her through the mirror of her vanity, where she sat. Removing her makeup and then applying some face cream.

"I'm not the only one by a window," you told her. Then moved to peer through the window, at the moving lights in the black, midnight sky. "I'm sure I heard Elsa and Jojo in the attic watching them."

"They are," she confirmed.

"See. We're not the only ones. Too many eyes. A good distraction," you admitted, "But almost impossible. And with two kids added to that? No chance."

A hum came from Rosie.

"So, what are our options?"

With a sigh, you began explaining, "People will be too jumpy tomorrow, so our best bet would be the day after."

The blonde, now ready for bed, came over to you. Moving to stand right in front of you, looking out the window herself.

"Wouldn't it be too risky, staying here that long?"

It seemed it was your turn to hum, shrugging your shoulders.

"I'd rather stay here a few more days than risk it out there. But there is a good side to these change of plans."

"And what's that?"

"Now, we can sneak stuff to the car. And won't risk being caught doing it all at night. That way, all we have to do is get in, then drive off."

"Good plan. Partner," Rosie spoke in a slight mocking about sultry tone. Which only made you roll your eyes good-naturedly.

"Yeah. Yeah. You're welcome."

"Seriously," you halted at Rosie's serious tone, raising your head to peer at her, "Thank you for everything."

"You don't have to thank me." Your lips ticked up in a small smile before you lightened the sober mood and atmosphere. "And you definitely won't be thanking me if I accidentally kick you in my sleep."

Rosie laughed at your words, watching as you said into bed beside her.

"Do not worry. If you kick me, I'll just kick you out of the bed."

"Now that's just rude."

Waking up the next morning was strange for you, to say the least.

With the bright sun shining through the thin drapes, across the cosy room, and onto the bed. Duvet lumpy above your forms.

And then there was Rosie.

The blonde pressed up against your side, head resting on your shoulder, arms curled around one of yours, still fast asleep.

Now that.

That was very unusual for you.

But then again. You were too sleepy to process anything at that moment. So instead, you just watched her breathe soothingly, looking so peaceful by your side, with your eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinted in curiosity.

It was a wonder how someone could look so contest face asleep like Rosie was, with everything that is going on in the world.

The world wouldn't be that way for much longer, you thought, it was only a matter of time before everything was over.

And the same thing could be said for the blonde sleeping by your side.

The wooden door barged open, alerting you fully awake, as Jojo strutted in. Only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of you. In bed. With his mother.

You could see the slight anger in his eyes, purely out of protection for his beloved mother.

"Good morning, Jojo," Rosie said sleepily as she moved to sit up, looking at the boy with a sleepy smile.

You grunted as she pressed her palm into your abdomen to raise up into a seated position.

"What are they doing here?" he asked, nodding his head towards you.

Rosie looked over her shoulder at you, tired eyes evaluating you. Before she turned back to her son.

"There's something I forgot to tell you yesterday."

You watched the mother and child with slightly wide eyes, not uttering a word, just looking like you wanted to escape this situation.

"What did you forget?"

"The General here-" she patted your abdomen where her hand still resided. "-And I, are seeing each other."

It was a few good long moments as Jojo processed the words. You thought he was going to be angry. It would be natural. You would understand. He was a young boy, one who undoubtedly missed his father and would not be happy with his mother being with anyone else.

But you also had to understand that he idolised you, if only for your -albeit fake- position in the German military.

And yet, you were still surprised and confused by what he said next.

"A lion?"

Rosie smiled brightly, nodding her head, "A lion."

"A lion?"

That was the first thing you said that morning, and it was full of confusion.

But it fell on deaf ears.

Jojo nodded once at his mother before turning on his heel and walking from the room, without saying what he initially came in for.

"What?"

Rosie smiled at you.

"Come on, we should get moving."

The bed shook and bounced as she got up from the bed, preparing to get ready for the day.

"I'm so confused," you almost whimpered, only gaining a soft giggle in return.

***

Permanent Tag List: 

@imnotasuperhero, @veteranwerewolf95, @natasha-danvers, @marvelfansince08love, @higherfurther-romanova, @lesbian-x-blackwidow, @sestra-inestro, @thelastavenger-3000, @mixed-fandom-mess,

SFW Tag list: 

@peggycarter-steverogers, @natalia-quinzel,

(I didn’t know if you guys wanted to be tagged in this, but...)

#original work #original fanfiction #rosie beltzer x reader #rosie betzler x reader #rosie betzler imagine #rosie betzler #jojo rabbit imagine #jojo rabbit

[arianadevareux]

Imagine...

Being Elsa’s older sister and having a crush on Rosie Betzler.

(For anon) 

“I can see you blushing, Y/N.”

“No, you can’t. Because I’m not.” 

Your younger sister, Elsa, liked to tease you any chance she could about your apparent crush on Rosie, the woman who was helping to keep the two of you hidden. She waited until you were alone, at least. A secret jest between you.

Rosie came to visit you as often as she could; asking about your home and your dreams for the future. Sometimes Elsa would slink away, leaving you to speak to the woman alone. It was difficult to deny that you liked her. She was kind and seemed genuinely interested when you’d talk about something you were passionate about. And she could make you laugh; one of those that came from your belly up.  

“This is for you, Elsa,” The woman had brought in gifts for you and your sister. Elsa’s was a stack of paper tied neatly together and a new pencil.

“And for you, Y/N, I saw this and thought you might like something pretty.” It was an accessory that you would’ve picked out for yourself if you were shopping. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful. How’d you... well, anyway, thank you.” 

“How’d I know what to get?” You nodded. “You told me.”

“I don’t recall telling you I wanted something like this.”

“Not directly. You told me what colors you like, and the things that make you feel nice. I put what I knew together and found this. Here, allow me.” 

She put it on for you, giving you a genuine smile. “Beautiful.” 

You could already hear Elsa preparing to tease you the moment Rosie left the room. Surely even she saw you blushing now. If she did, she didn’t mention it. 

#jojo rabbit #jojo rabbit imagine #jojo rabbit reader insert #rosie betzler #rosie betzler imagine #rosie betzler x reader #elsa korr #jojo rabbit rosie #jojo rabbit rosie x reader #jojo rabbit rosie imagine #imagine #gif imagine #reader insert #scarlett johansson #scarlett johansson x reader #scarlett johansson imagine

[imagines4thepeeps]

Request please!

I’m on the last ask in my inbox soo please feel free to request. Take a look at my many character lists cus I write for a lot of bitches. Thank you for reading my shit!!

#natasha romanoff x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #marvel imagine #MCU #rosie betzler x reader #carol danvers x reader #brie larson x reader #scarlett johansson x reader #elizabeth olsen x reader

[thefilmfatale]

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Who says you can't laugh about the Holocaust? Certainly not Taika Waititi.

The Hunt for the Wilderpeople director’s latest film Jojo Rabbit, set in Nazi Germany with a fanatical Hitler youth at its center, is uproarious, funny, and anything but glib. The story follows 10-year-old Jojo Betzler (played by the effortlessly charismatic and magnetic Roman Griffin Davis), who idolizes Adolf Hitler so much that Hitler (played by Waititi) has become his imaginary friend, popping up like a proverbial devil-on-one’s-shoulder during random moments of turmoil to comfort and counsel our budding young Nazi. 

Jojo’s dedication to the cause is unwavering. Thanks to some imaginative Nazi propaganda, Jojo is convinced that his purpose is to exterminate Jews, whom he envisions as winged creatures that eat children and hoard anything shiny. Alas, after playing cavalier with a grenade at Hitler youth camp, Jojo suffers an accident that renders him unfit to keep training with the other children, including his best friend Yorki (played by the adorably precocious Archie Yates). He’s promptly sent home, where his angst grows due to being isolated from his Jew-hating peers. To add insult to injury, he discovers that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Outraged and beside himself with indignation, Jojo hatches a plan to get rid of the Jewish girl, seizing it as an opportunity to prove himself as a true Nazi believer to his peers. 

Jojo embarks on quite the character arc, and Waititi once again proves that he is a masterful director when it comes to working with children. His ability to elicit the purest, most delightful performances from child actors is amazing (just as he did in Hunt for the Wilderpeople), and the audience swiftly finds themselves endeared to Jojo and the rest of the cast. Performances from everyone were delightful, with Waititi allowing each actor (such as Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and Rebel Wilson) to bring their signature flairs to their characters. While the film is approached mostly as a period piece from an aesthetic standpoint (with costumes, set design, and color palettes largely faithful to the period), Waititi’s deliberate choices in making it anachronistic serve two purposes: to punctuate the satire, and to help make what should be a very sobering subject matter more approachable.   

The story, a loose adaptation of the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, while quirky and sweet certainly doesn't shy away from the real horrors of the holocaust. It’s a tightrope walk to juggle humor and atrocity, but Waititi makes it seem natural. He also knows precisely how to tug at heartstrings without being melodramatic. Jojo Rabbit’s triumph is ultimately in its ability to treat the topic of ideological extremism with the ridicule it so often deserves while at the same time provoking interesting questions about why people get sucked into blindly following charismatic demagogues, entrenching themselves in hate-filled cults, and spouting toxic ideologies. The best part? Waititi does this with so much thoughtfulness and nuance, all while serving up an entertaining, poignant story. 

By the end of Jojo Rabbit, you’re not raising your pitchforks screaming about the injustice of the Holocaust—that would be rather trite. Instead, you’re reminded that humans are complex, multi-dimensional, and capable of both immense kindness and unbridled terror. It’s a celebration of people’s capacity to change their minds. More importantly, it’s a reminder of the beauty of comedy and how laughter can be the best medicine during turbulent times. 

(More—including spoilers—under the cut)

What I love most about Jojo Rabbit is the depth of each character and how there’s so much to dissect and unpack for each one. Beginning with Jojo—we learn that not only is his father far away, in danger, fighting somewhere on the frontlines, but that he also lost his older sister Inge. We’re never told in full detail what happened to her, but the main takeaway is that her death, coupled by the absence of Jojo’s father, were tragedies that may have propelled Jojo to seek out the philosophy of the Third Reich. It’s not uncommon for young fanatics to get swept into hate groups when they are at their lowest points. When you’re angry or feeling helpless and lonely, it’s easy to externalize your pain and find someone to blame, whether it’s an entire gender, people of certain ethnicities, or members of a different political party. It’s simpler, you see, instead of owning one’s problems and acknowledging that the world doesn’t revolve around you. By making boogeymen out of people who are easy targets, we assert control over the senseless things that happen in our lives. It’s a way to feel powerful.

When you’re young, there are so many things that are out of your control. You’re caught in this torrent of everyone else’s decisions—your parents, school, your peers, society at large—and you’re looking around, flailing and hyperaware, that you’re living what is supposed to be your life and yet there seems so very little that you have ownership of. That's Jojo’s story. Not only is he caught in the middle of a war, but he’s grappling with some seriously heavy shit: an absentee father, a dead sister, a craving for acceptance from his peer group and, ultimately, a longing for connection that is rooted in positivity rather that hate. 

At first that connection seems to be cultivated by his mother, Rosie, who is literally and figuratively the most vibrant character in the film. From her bold, striking fashion sense and rouged lips to her joie de vivre, Rosie is, to quote Mulan, a flower that blooms in adversity. Even during the bleakest of times, she finds ways to uplift her son, whom she can tell is hurting. Her bursts of energy, her ability to find excitement and enthusiasm even in the most mundane of things, her rally to dance in the face of tragedy—all were reminders that dwelling on hatred and sorrow, while easy and sometimes necessary, is a crutch in a balm’s disguise. We must always forge ahead and seek hope when all feels lost, like “staring a tiger in the eyes”, as Rosie would say. That’s why, despite the risks of being caught by the Gestapo, she housed a Jewish girl in her home. In some small way, she was doing her part in the resistance against a hateful movement. While Rosie says she’s never stared a tiger in the eyes, her act of defiance came at great risk to herself, and that’s true courage.

In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the film, Jojo is wandering the streets when he notices a bright, blue butterfly fluttering against the backdrop of hate-filled propaganda smattered on the city walls. He chases it wistfully and accidentally stumbles on the gallows in the middle of the town square. All the audience sees, hanging from the gallows, is a pair of legs with bright-colored shoes, and our hearts immediately sink. It’s Rosie. Waititi leads up to this shocking moment during a previous scene, while Jojo and Rosie are hanging out by a river. Rosie makes fun of Jojo for still being unable to tie his own shoes. She’s skipping gleefully on top of a concrete wall, with the camera trained low at Jojo’s eye-level, so the audience sees a shot of her shoes as she taps into a merry little dance. Waititi counts on viewers remembering this quiet scene to make what follows truly devastating. The effect is quite heart-stopping, and it’s impossible to want to reach out and give poor Jojo a hug as he cries out and wraps his arms around his dead mother’s feet. It’s then that Waititi makes his message known: Yes, there’s plenty to make light of in the world, but you can do this while also acknowledging that there’s plenty of darkness. It’s an impressive balancing act, and Waititi does it with so much wonderful exuberance and earnestness that it’s tough not to commend.

Viewers notice that the more Jojo focuses on the positive things in his life—his mother, his new Jewish friend Elsa—the less we see of his imaginary friend Hitler. And this is a deliberate choice by Waititi to prove a point: when you are consumed with hate, you’ll want to constantly keep feeding it because it’s comfortable and easy. As humans, we have a biological negative bias that we rely on as a means of survival. The very idea of entropy exists as a reminder that it takes more work to put things in order, to be good, to rise above, than for things to decay and distort and devolve. The more you fill your life with things that bring you joy, fulfillment, and contentment, the less you’ll rely on poisonous literature and toxic people. While this isn't exactly an epiphany for most of us, one may applaud Waititi for the inventive way he delivers this message.  

Another delightful character who, on the surface, seemed to be solely there for comedic effect, was Sam Rockwell’s Captain Klenzendorf, who’s tasked with whipping up these little rascals into Nazi-fighting shape. From the very get go, we sense that this man’s commitment to the Nazi cause is entirely for appearances’ sake. From his clandestine romance with his right-hand man (played by Games of Thrones’ Alfie Allen) to his soft spot for Jojo, the audience is led to believe that this man is merely pretending to be a hard-ass because that’s what you were expected to do, else be accused of treason to your nation. One could assume his affection for Jojo had something to do with being able to sympathize with the young boy after Jojo is relegated to doing simple jobs due to his injury (Klenzendorf claims he was benched from the frontlines because of an injury that led to him having a dead eye). But it’s toward the end of the film where we fully realize the totality of his character. In an earlier scene, Jojo is bullied by some older boys into killing a rabbit. They jeer at him as he wrestles with the decision to kill an innocent animal. He’s torn between wanting desperately to ingratiate himself into his peer group and staying true to the part of himself that’s kind, pure, innocent, and staunchly against needless violence. The music builds as we lean forward in our seats waiting to see what Jojo does. He decides on an act of mercy at his own expense, releasing the bunny and yelling at it to flee from danger. Unfortunately, before it has a chance to escape, the bunny is snatched up by one of the older boys, who wrings its neck in front of all the young boys to see. 

At first this seems like a scene that’s simply supposed to be an obnoxious display of bravado. But Waititi calls back to this scene towards the end of the film twice. Klenzendorf arrives at the Betzler household when it is being searched and ransacked by the Gestapo, who suspect Rosie has been aiding Jews. Jojo is terrified, not just to be discovered as traitors by the Gestapo but for Elsa’s (the Jewish girl they have been hiding who has now become his friend) safety. To get ahead of the situation, Elsa emerges from her hiding place and pretends to be Jojo’s dead sister Inge. When the Gestapo demand her paperwork, she shows them Inge’s old ID card. Klenzendorf immediately intercedes, grabs the ID from her hand and demands that she variate her identity by stating her birthday. Elsa stammers in response. “Correct,” Klenzendorf confirms flatly. The Gestapo consider this acceptable and vacate the premises, none the wiser. We discover immediately that Elsa had actually given the wrong birthdate, and Klenzendorf could have outed her right then, but decided not to. He was helping the bunny escape.

In another scene, when the Allied troops march into Germany and start rounding up all the Nazi soldiers, Jojo (who has a Nazi officer’s jacket on) is mistaken for one of them. He runs into Captain Klenzendorf, who creates a commotion by wrenching the Nazi jacket off of Jojo’s back and pushing him away, telling him to flee while yelling at him for being a dirty Jew so the Allies don’t execute him. It was an act of sacrifice from a man who recognized himself in the young boy. Klenzendorf saw Jojo’s gentleness and purity of heart and knew this kid needed to live. He released the bunny, stared a tiger squarely in the eyes—at the expense of his own life.

Jojo Rabbit, while certainly laugh-out-loud funny and full of amusement, is a moving story about heroism from a group of people who rarely ever get acknowledgment for their acts of bravery. These were Germans who defied their Führer and their Aryan brotherhood at great risk to their own lives. While these acts will never erase the horrors of the Holocaust, it’s a reminder that people are complicated creatures, capable of miraculous acts of mercy and horrific deeds of violence. It implores us to think about how some of the people that get caught up in hate groups are hurting deeply and just looking for something to blame their pain on. It definitely doesn’t excuse their actions or the bile they oftentimes spew, but it merely reminds us that behind every caricature is a human being in pain. 

Even if you see Jojo Rabbit and don’t think it’s that deep—you may say “Starr, it’s just a comedy about stupid Nazis, it’s not even a true story”. What is true about it is that we live in a world of grey, and while it may be simpler to put people in buckets of black and white, hero and villain, good and bad, more often than not we are all just hurting in some way. What’s true about it is that we have more in common than we have differences and ultimately, everyone regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, craves the same thing: freedom; Freedom from the burdens that we carry on our shoulders, from dead loved ones to strife and war. Freedom from the fear of persecution for being who we are. The freedom to wear whatever we want, screw whomever we want, and to dance like no one’s looking. 

#Jojo Rabbit #taika waititi #Scarlett Johansson #movie reviews #sam rockwell

[catfishmorales]

Could I get a family or a friendship headcanon for Klenzendorf/Finkel? I could honestly hear you talk about these two all day.

I could talk about these two all day so you are in luck my friend!

Friendship:

Freddy and K don't have a very wide group of friends.

They have eachother, Rham, Rosie and a few other close friends they've met through the army and the Jungvolk.

Out of their small circle, theres only one person who know that they are a couple: Rosie Betzler.

And she is 100% supportive and loves them both like brothers.

I really love the idea of the three of them hanging out and just bitch talking the Regime someplace private and her being the only person that Finkel and K can be themselves around.

K was always more popular than Freddy but that was probably more because of his rank than his personality. Most of his friends would be other officers and soldiers. Though really, he thinks of them more as acquaintances.

Whereas Freddy has always had more female friends, ever since he was a child he found it easier to become friends with girls.

Family:

Freddy isn't close to his family. They live in Berlin and are very loyal Nazis.

He sends the occasional letter just so they know he's still alive but that's the only contact he has with them.

K's father was a German Military General and was super duper strict when K was growing up.

K joined the army to follow in his father's footsteps but sadly his father passed away before K finished training.

He's still in contact with her mother and visits her regularly. His mother baby sits the dogs whenever K decides he and Freddy need a bit more privacy.

Freddy wishes that they could have their own family and adopt a couple kids, he's told K about this little dream so many times.

Though they both know it'll never happen, they like to imagine what they would call their children.

K likes the name Jakob for a boy.

Freddy likes the name Rosie, in memory of their lost friend, for a girl.

#captain klenzendorf #freddy finkel #jojo rabbit #headcanon #ship asks #ask response

[frauleinmary]

"Caging Skies" by Christine Leunens Review

Disclaimer: Each and every one of us has a different opinion towards this beautiful novel, please respect mine! ✌️

Also, ⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️ so If you have not watched the movie or read the book I recommend you do both first and then come back 🙃. All comments are welcomed too!

........

When I began reading this very interesting book I was expecting it to be similar to the movie based upon it (Jojo Rabbit) but it was completely different in some aspects.

Some of the most obvious changes were the following:

In the film we meet a 10-year-old Jojo who doesn't get to experience a lot of things during his stay at the Hitler Youth camp (if we may call it that) due to his accident with the granade , while in the book he does have the opportunity to learn more about it, for example: he and Yorki (whose name is Kippi in the book btw) get to grow throught puberty at the camp which makes them talk about girls, the changes in their bodies and their dream about joining Hitler's personal guard, a dream that only Jojo had in the movie, but is shared by these two in the book.

Yorki dies in front of Jojo. This was one of the things that shocked me the most while I was reading. He dies during an enemy attack and Jojo is there to witness the death of his best friend who was only 11.

After the enemy attack in which Yorki dies Jojo isn't spared and he suffers a lot of injuries but the most remarkable one is (unfortunately) the loss of one of his arms leaving him out of the war effort permanently.

Captain Klenzendorf and Freddy Finkel don't exist these two characters are never mentioned, which means they were the result of Taika's wonderful imagination.

We get to know about Jojo's family even more: This is something I really enjoyed about the book because after watching the movie I wanted to dig deeper into Jojo's family and the book ended up giving me all the answers. We get to know Jojo's father who was a very strict man, and was against Hitler's ideas as well as his wife Rosie who is a bit less friendly than the Rosie we see on the film and Even get to meet his grandmother who is way too old and easily gets sick. Inge, on the other hand is still dead because of diabetes, but we learn that her hobbie was to play the violin alongside a misterious girl

Now that we have talked about that it's time to jump into the plot of the book.

It is definetlly a bit more complicated to read and in order to understand the book itself with its strong and powerful message you need to pay attention to everything that happens as you read, Jojo has to face a new challenge in almost every chapter as time passes by, when he first finds out about Elsa's exisrance he has the urge to kill her (because that is what he's been taught to do), so he looks for his dagger and tríes to stab her with it, but he finds himself unable to do so. It reminds him of a question Yorki Asked him before passing: "Jojo, if Hitler ordered you to kill me in order to save himself, would you do it?" a question that he never really answered, but now as he stands in front of his worst enemy he is clueless on what to do. That is when he begins to see the world in a different light:" My father and mother are traitors! " he thinks to himself.and so, an endless time of arguments and discussions threaten to tear apart the Betzler family. "This is all nonsense! ' Herr Betzler says as Frau Betzler adds a "Hitler is stupid" to the argument.

This males Johannes furious to the point where he stops believing in God.

This Will mark a very important point in his life and his relationship with Elsa. Herr Betzler is called to save his country from the allies and Frau Betzler begins to participate more in the resistance, meanwhile his grandmother gets sick from a fever that refuses to leave and Jojo has to take care of her, which eventually forms a strong bond between them.

Every time Jojo tríes to talk about Elsa Frau Betzler womt listen and pretend she doesn't know anybody called as such.

The story goes on and on talking about Elsa's impact on his life.

Christine Leunens manages to make you feel inside the story with her realistic characters and scenarios. The movie ends halfway through the book and the rest proceeds to tell you about Jojo's life with Elsa as his partner. If I must be honest I have to admit it was the ending that disturbed me, it was way to simple for me and i was also expecting something a bit more exciting perhaps, but apart from that "Caging Skies" is a book that everyone should read because not only does it show you the power love has over hate but how it tells you a story we must never repeat again.

And last but not least, Taika has a beautiful way to adapt these pages for the big screen, giving his script his very own magical touch but never for getting its original roots

______

I hope you enjoyed my "review" (this is my first one if I must confess)

Comment down below your opinions :)

Thank you for reading ✌️❤️

#jojo rabbit #caging skies #christine leunens #review #Books

[th3okamid3mon]

JoJo Rabbit, a well thought and heart-wrenching satire [SPOILERS]

Even in a comedy you can´t help to cry, there´s no way you can talk about any war without crying or feeling such a deep horrible feeling of fear and distraught.

(I´m gonna be disclosing a lot of SPOILERS, which include the ending and several key points of the story.)

Sinopsis:

Johannes Breztel is a 10 year old german fanatic who wishes to become a good nazi soldier. He goes to a military camp where he has to learn everything you need to know about being a good soldier and make Hitler proud. JoJo, with his imaginary friend Adolf, began their adventure to becoming a better German for their homeland and fighting against the evil plaguing it: jews. 

Writing and Characters:

I heard a lot about Taika Waititi, haven´t watch Ragnarok since I´m not exactly a huge fan on superhero movies (Watched most of the MCU movies mostly out of duty, in a ¨God, please just end it¨ kind of way. Loved Iron Man, hated the 3, Thor was boring, and etc, etc.), I heard how awesome he is, how good is he at also acting and such. This is a huge and great example for his brilliance to shine. 

Every story about WW2 is really predictable, you know people are gonna die and people are gonna be miserable or happy at the end of the war. Waititi does a flip by using dark comedy and the perspective of a child, which a lot of people seem to not want due to how disturbing it can be (once you get all the comedy out of the way). 

You follow Johannes ¨JoJo¨ Betzler, a 10 year old who is, as the character of Elsa says is:, ¨just a little boy playing to be a soldier with a funny costume trying to get in a club¨. We see he has blind devotion towards the evil Adolf Hitler and is really excited to participate in a training with the hopes of becoming a soldier or better yet, Hitler´s personal body guard. It is disturbing to think a young child, or any child by any means, want to become part on the worst human activity there is: war, and not only that, idolizes the worst and evilest bastard who could have ever been alive. Of course, JoJo is not good for war at all. No kid has the killing instinct in their blood, it´s not something you inherit its something they learn or, in this case, brainwash into believing. He gets into a hilariously portrayed accident that involved a hand bomb that exploded his left side. 

His character is the most developed in the entire movie, we follow his steps, we see what he sees and we feel what he feels. His mother tried very hard to taught him how awful war was, he saw Elsa hidden in a tight spot where she had to keep quiet or she and the rest could get in serious trouble, he saw the military before and after going to war. He began to understand how awful can war be, but it wasn´t fully absorb until several traumatic events happened that no child ever had to see in their young life. It´s a very likable child, you are never angry at his devotion he was literally taught from infancy how he had to serve a dictator. The fault falls in the regimen, his actions, the things he does and acts are his only responsibility and thanks to his child innocence and wonder and compassion we know he is a good person in the inside just a bit confused. 

Rosie Betzler. If you didn´t like Scarlett Johannson for his previews acting on the fucking MCU movies (like me, GOD I hated her), well I bet you are gonna like her in this one. I mean... SHE SMILES? WOW, DIDN´T KNEW SHE COULD DO THAT. Seriously, the directing in the heroes movies fucked her seriously. She is a brilliant actress and is so wonderfully funny in this one. A kind mother with brutal honesty trying to raise her now beloved child alone (since her husband is at war and her older child died from influenza, I didn´t exactly got that from the movie) while keeping certain secrets to keep him safe is hard enough, but during NAZI GERMANY while being part of the jewish resistance is IS ANOTHER LEVEL OF HARD, ITS LIKE NIGHTMARE MODE IN FUCKING OUTLAST. Badass character, keeping a balance between trying to make her child feel like a child and also keeping the orphan Elsa a secret. She didn´t had a huge development and she didn´t need one, we only needed to see what secrets she was hiding and damn... They cost a lot once you knew them all. 

Elsa, brave and aggressive Elsa. Of course anyone would act the way she did if she had to be quiet to avoid being sent to a concentration camp. The girl has a lot of knowledge in popular culture, telling JoJo about different artists who, not only were writers or musicians, but also Jewish (to the dismay for poor, silly JoJo). She didn´t have a huge development, she begin to understand JoJo deeply as well as Rosie, since both where there for her (even if they had different and opposite motivations). Elsa is like an obstacle for JoJo except she doesn´t do much and wouldn´t do so if it meant putting herself at risk. We can see she is really brave once the Gestapo stop at their home, brave and smart that is. Without her quick thinking the movie would have ended then and there. I can´t imagine how deeply horrifying it would have been to do that and how awful and sad her life was after not only loosing her fiance to tuberculosis but also watching her family getting in a train and leaving to a place where no one returns. She acts aggressive and is harsh because she needs to survive and when she begins to trust JoJo, their bond become strong and deep and become like siblings. 

Capitan Deertz is a very apathetic and silly capitan, the guy is really tired of the war and doesnt really want anything to do with the children at the camp, not because of a moral compass he just doesnt give a fuck. You get this character and you laugh at his commentary and at how Rosie can easily threaten him. And then you see more of his character, he seems to care at certain some points. He cares about Finkel, who is a second in command. Every time they appear in screen they are literally whispering stuff at each other or have certain looks, clearly a gay couple. At that time period it was EXTREMELY dangerous to show any type of love towards another man and this two werent that subtle about it but since they were high in command guess no one actually care or said anything (considering most of the people in their command were children, no one would probably even care). Finkel was just this goofy guy who follow Deertz and show a deep appreciation. Not the main thing to focus, it´s just there and it´s funny and its normal. They dont have to look or act in ¨gay way¨, they are just there and they do their work and such. Which is fine until you get the war scenes and then you want to bawl even more (Because when you get at the war scenes you already should have bawled your eyes out due to a lot of sad circumstances). He also cared about Rosie and JoJo, even when he seem not to. When he saw Gestapo in Rosie´s house he helped JoJo save Elsa and when he was trapped by the Allies he helped JoJo again by ripping a nazi jacket off of him and shoving him to the ground while screaming at him. General jerk is actually a caring character, cliche move but man, does it always fucking works. 

The dialogues were impressively well thought, no one felt out of place and they made sense. The way they make fun of the whole blind fanatism and how the military views boys and girls it´s all in your face and its hilarious, it is presented as that so please no one start saying how sexist or how wrong it is for saying the things they say. It´s a SATIRE. It´s a MOVIE. ITS COMEDY.

I cannot thought of any kind of plothole, I´m sure it has or it probably has but the story is so well thought and so well acted you are absorb into it. Your whole attention is in what will happen next, the story of WW2 can be predictable, but this story is always at 2 steps of ripping your heart and then replacing it and hoping it pumps blood normally and when it does pump blood normally it rips it off again. It´s a rollercoaster, and it´s capturing. Your attention is in the story 100% of the time, and you gotta pay attention to the details because they foreshadow so much good and so much PAIN. 

Directing and Acting: 

I almost go off in the other section about Scarlett´s acting, now here it comes: MY GOD. I hated her so much in Avengers. The mot disliked character for me was her, and I always forget it was the directors fault. Here´s a note: When an actor acts bad, it´s not always, if not NEVER, their fault. Most of the time is the directors fault, you have to give straight and good orders and to maintain a communication with them if not the story falls. When Black Widow was shown in Iron Man, I was like ¨Wow, I like her! She is really good and badass!!¨ and then Avengers happened and it fucking fall all over the fucking lava floor. And IT WAS A FUCKING SHAME. Scarlett Johansson is a really good actress! She portrayed an excellent character, even if it was a minor character, she did it perfectly and shown so much emotion with the looks and the words she said and the actions she did. She was a mom in this movie, and it showed! THIS! THIS CHARACTER MADE ME LOVE JOHANSSON! Please dont go to shit directors ever again, my god. Avengers was a fucking toxic relationship and SHE GOT OUT AND SHE IS BRILLIANT. 

Taika Waititi is such a great director, he really put his love and passion into this project and it shows. It bleeds passion, it fucking tastes passion. I dont understand, he needs more money to make more works. GIVE THIS MAN MORE MONEY. 

The kids? Holy- How old are th- 12!?!?!?!? ROMAN GRIFFIN DAVIS WAS 12?!?!?! How old was- HIS SIBLINGS ALSO WORK IN THIS?! Ok how old is the othe- 11!?!?!??! ARCHIE YATES IS 11!??!?!  Ok, as you can see, I am very impressed by this child actors. It can be a challenge to direct them because sometimes there are a lot of different needs they have and they also can´t work as much as the adults and such, this means there´s less time to work with them and maybe they have school and other child responsibilities. Waititi must have had a lot of patience and a really big understanding of their work hours, not over pressuring them and knowing how to explain the whole script. That doesn´t mean they dont have talent, though. This kids are EXTREMELY talented, they are funny and they show a lot of emotion, even when one is comic relief you can sense and see how exhausted he is while saying ¨I´m going to see my mom, I need a cuddle¨ LIKE... THIS ARE KIDS, THEY SHOULDNT BE AT WAR, WTF!? 

The actors protrayed their respective characters in such a way, deeply understanding what emotions go in each scene and making the scene so heart wrenching. 

[BIG SPOILER, SKIP IF YOU DON´T WANNA KNOW] There´s a scene I enjoyed a lot by how it is presented, it´s a good sequence and the punch hits you really hard. During the movie you can see a couple scenes where they only show Rosie´s feet, dancing or just moving while JoJo sees amused or not. Anyway, the scene I´m talking about is when he is following a really pretty blue butterfly that is flying at floors level. He walks towards it and smiles, he squats to take a better look at it before it flies away. And when he stands up again, he is next to a pair of legs, and not any legs, they have a specific kind of shoe, and they have a specific blue coat. Oh no. You dont have to see the face, there´s no need to see the face. You dont have to see the expression you only need to see JoJo. And this is where I have no idea how this kid did it, but his expression goes from wonder to horrifying sadness and desperation. I dont know what direction, what mental image did Waititi told him but he manage to portrayed a really raw and deep sadness and heartbreak you can only see in people who lost someone. And the kid is just holding his mother´s lifeless legs and crying and desperate trying to tie her shoelaces and then giving up and hugging her again. And then he is just broken, looking at her hanging with other people who might have been with her or not. The realization of how harsh the punishment is and how awful life is that day at that time. And he can´t believe it, he doesnt want to believe and maybe if he had acted differently she would have still been there but no. It wasn´t his fault, he had nothing to do with it. He later was explain what possibly happened. She was with the resistance, her husband was with the resistance in Italy. She was against nazi´s but she never told him to protect him and to protect herself. She sacrifice for other people, she put herself in danger for other people and for a better future for her son. JoJo wouldnt have known, he couldn´t know and now that he knew he just loved her so very much and it hurted him. It wasn´t the jews´ fault, it wasn´t his fault, it was the people of the regimen he was following, the regimen who promised a bright future for him and the other children. 

Sound design: 

It was delightful. Dialogues kept at their respective volumes, background noises were there and not overbearing, the sound of steps, something being dragged, the sound of bombs and artillery. Not a single time was any sound out of place, it was as if you were there, it immersive. The sound played a huge rolled into being capture in the story, with such detail at every sound that could be played at the scene. The silences where used perfectly, only backgrounds and atmospheric sounds plagued the scene, and when the moment hit you there was still no music until the realization was made. Perfect timing.

The soundtrack was beautiful, endearing and melancholic at their respective scenes. When there was music to dance on, the music played, when there was a hilarious montage the music exaggerates the ridiculous situation they are presented in. It was wonderful. 

Art design: 

They went all off!!! The clothes, the cars, the food, the plates, everything! I wonder how much investigation did they had to do to fully dress up an entire cast and also to do the little details. One thing is getting the clothes that, to be entirely fair, thanks to photos from those times and more investigation from books, you can figure out the type of clothes and materials they used, but the details from the streets, the kind of bikes and the inside of a house its an entire story:

Investigation is not entirely what you need to do, you have to consider what colors go well, what makes the character pop but also make sense, how the decor should be done and what kind of table and chairs are in a normal house. How do the hidden rooms worked and how where they hidden at plain sight, how do you make it work and how will it look. All has to be thought out, everything has to have a purpose, even the smallest change can be a whole new set. Make it look pretty but make sure it makes sense to the era. 

Photography: 

Let´s talk photography, shall we?

Look at how the colors vary, look at the highlights and shadows. Look at the saturated colors. I LOVE saturated colors, not many photographers used them out of fear, the colors can be very bright and distracting, but Mihai Mălaimare Jr. made it work! His shots are spectacular, they work perfectly to capture whats going on and how the characters feel. 

JUST LOOK AT THE CONTRAST. In the first picture there´s a big open shot, both Rosie and JoJo are in the very left corner while you can see the bright green grass. They are free from everything when they are out of town, they can be happy or enjoy their time while being there, even if JoJo likes to pretend to be mature and to still want to be a soldier while his mother is trying to make him understand how life has to be enjoyed while it last and how war has ruin that for everyone, including the nazi germans. The second shot is at the town, look at how grayish it looks. Everyone is miserable. There´s no such thing as a good war, and whether you believe it or not, even the nazi germans were suffering, the ones who werent fighting were frighten to be attacked, hungry because the food was not enough or was given to the soldiers, no one was happy at that point in life. The color palettes help tell a story, and influence how you look at the lives of the characters. It´s visual storytelling and you can feel the fresh air, the relief from the first shot and then the limited, claustrophobic and fearful atmosphere from the second. 

What a better representation of what war is. Kids going to get killed for an evil regimen disguised as the savior for their homeland. JoJo who finally sees that horrors of war, a kid who has lost so much now, who knows heartbreak but never fathom the idea of horrifying, raw, disturbing and sickening war is. How you loose more than you gain from fighting, how you see your friends being send like pigs to a slaughter, how the military blindly follows orders for a falling regimen. The look of utter disbelief and horror contrasting the he blind joy of dying for your country. This shot is everything and in motion is even more epic yet disturbing. 

Conclusion:

I might be too blinded by how well it was made that I don´t see any problems in it. I would have to watch it again to see if there´s some inconsistencies but going by the first watch I have to say it was really good. The plot was understandable, it had high points and slow points, but those were well made. It was smooth how the story evolve, the turns were expected but maybe not in the way they were presented. What i mean is, it can be predictable but you dont expect HOW it is presented. With War stories death is at every corner, it´s the manner that you don´t expect or hope to happen to anyone. The acting was phenomenal, the star was totally Roman Griffin, all the actors were amazing but you gotta give the kid credit, THIS WAS HIS DEBUT and he NAILED IT! 

By the looks of the trailer you expect so much and it gives you that and more. To the eyes is a delight, to the heart is a pain and comfort and to the ears is a melody. To the soul is a story that has to remind you history, war is not a good thing and so many people get more damage by it than saved. No kid should ever be put in that situation, and yet there are kids suffering in this world. This movie could potentially be an Anti-War movie, because it literally shows how awful it is. Wars are awful in general! It´s kind of ridiculous we need to be reminded of that but here we are. 

We are shown a cruel environment with a humorous tone to get the message straight into our heads and it works perfectly. Give it 3 watches and then watch another 3 times, every time you feel like everything is going down, remember there´s still hope even in the darkest more horrifying places and times. We have the choice to make good, humans can be evil but can be extremely brave and compassionate. Never give up being a good person, it can be hard but it is more rewarding. People need kindness and compassion. We need to be those compassionate people for others. It always starts with one brave person. 

The last thing you leave the theater is with a verse from Rainer Maria Rilke: 

                                      Let everything happen to you.                                                Beauty and Terror.                                                Just keep going.                                               No feeling is final.

Sincerely moved, T.O.D

PS: Fuck Hitler. 

#jojo rabbit #2020 #the movie was out in my country just a couple days ago #dont judge me for being late to the party #or do judge me #jojo rabbit 2019 #jojo rabbit 2020 #hitler #nazism #fanatism #nazis #nazi #satire #humor #comedy #dark comedy #review #thoughts #opinion #review? #mi opinion #reseña #english #ingles #movie #movies #movie 2020 #movie 2019 #pelicula #peliculas

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: MOVIE REVIEW: Jojo Rabbit

(Photo by Kimberly French courtesy of 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Special Presentation of the 55th Chicago International Film Festival

JOJO RABBIT— 5 STARS

There is a little recurring action, a motif if you will, in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit that surrounds tying someone else’s shoes. Think for a moment on the intentions behind that little gesture for a moment. Damn near like Christ washing his Apostles’ feet on Good Friday, the act of knotting those troublesome laces is like a bow to lower yourself for someone else. The purpose is to provide soft stability and firm strength for those in need at the place where their feet meet the stalwart steps of their fate. Patience is asked and used to cancel out tedium. The shoe itself doesn’t matter. It could be clown shoes or combat boots, and the paused shared moment of guidance and comforting safety between the helper and the wearer would be the same.

Those beautiful and gracious moments, slowed way down in between all the hustling hilarity in Jojo Rabbit, let you know exactly where the heart of this movie truly lies underneath the scathing satire. It is in the benevolence of helping people rather than warring with them. The titular young boy needs every ounce of such affection and the combat boots of Waititi’s movie are the clown shoes. Gusto meets gravitas in one of the most oddly poetic and beautifully brazen movies you may ever see.

A wonky version of Fox Searchlight’s logo anthem leads to a breakneck German-language rendition of The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (talk about a tone-setter) as we meet Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (the debuting Roman Griffin Davis), a ten-year-old who feels ready to become a man. The ladder in front of him to achieve that belonging sense of mettle is a weekend-long Hitler Youth camp alongside his bespectacled bestie Yorki (scene-stealer Archie Yates). With a Meatballs-level of lampoon, the booze-soaked Captain Klenzendork (Oscar winner Sam Rockwell) and dryly brutal Fräulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson) instruct these girls and boys in the proper indoctrination necessary to fit in.

LESSON #1: BE THE RABBIT — Between the finer points of killing and grenade safety, the training goal is clear. When Jojo won’t snap the neck of a rabbit, he is teased, branded as a fearful coward, and gets sidelined as a gopher and office helper. The symbolism of a rabbit is brave, witty, sneaky, and strong. All of those desirable qualities are present, yet undeveloped in Johannes.

Based on Christine Leunens’ novel “Caging Skies,” all of Jojo Rabbit is presented through this child’s point of view. Molding Jojo’s impressionable moral clay are two presences, one positive and the other toxic. The most well-meaning is his mother Rosie, played Scarlett Johansson. She is a progressive woman challenging the Nazi status quo and secretly hiding a teenage Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin Mackenzie of Leave No Trace) in the attic. Rosie’s advice always brims with encouraging alacrity. Between this and the upcoming Marriage Story, seeing Johansson play a mother is nothing short of an emotional epiphany. This is a side of her that we’ve never seen.

The more damaging voice comes from Jojo’s zealous imaginary friend, the führer himself Adolf Hitler. Played with pure camp by writer-director Taika Waititi, his uncouth false god is a cheerleader of cruelty. No joke is off-limits for his apparition of atrocity. Waititi’s maniacal manifestation is an absolute hoot. For Jojo, Hitler is an idol that is difficult to deny or disbelieve.

LESSON #2: WHEN ACTUALITY HITS — Using the word “reality” in this comical setting is leaping too far. Stick with actuality instead and just look at the objects and actions. Knives hurt people. Grenades explode. Soldiers die. War destroys. Germans are fallible. Jews are regular people too. When the wrongs and horrors of war arrive, the movie shifts. Jojo Rabbit swells and elevates beyond farce with this actuality.

LESSON #3: LEARNING EMPATHY — Rosie motivates love and soothes Jojo’s fears and misguided ambition, but the kinship with Mackenzie’s Elsa is what transforms hearts. Her character is never made the victim and that’s a beautiful, confident condition to maintain. Befriending the trapped refugee grows the boy’s sympathies, sheds misconceptions, and cleanses away the dirty propaganda spewing from the invisible Hitler and his very visible followers of the Third Reich. A kid pushes aside fake devotion to see how every life and its innocence matter.

Every wholesome peak and harrowing valley of Jojo Rabbit is crafted with equal parts panache and tenacity. What begins as crass caricature becomes crystalized constitution. One moment you’re yukking it up to some off-color humor and minutes later you’re wondering if there’s dust in your eye. If this is not the eventual winner for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, start a new boycott. The tonal balancing act written by Waititi is astounding and imaginative. The movie’s enriching third act builds one of the best crescendos of recent memory, all ending on a quaint dance that stands in staunch comparison to that opening Beatlemania.

The filmmaking artists around the writer and director follow his tottering pendulum with their own dexterity and excellence. Cinematographer Mihai Mălaimare Jr. (The Master) dabbles with speed and framing akin to a Wes Anderson film only to linger or skew angles and placements just enough to equal all the weird whimsy on display. The same came be said for the soundtrack. Cheeky song inclusions are equaled by composer Michael Giacchino’s orchestral hops between Jojo’s theme of precocious patriotism and a genteel nocturne for Rosie.

LESSON #4: EVERY WAR FILM IS AN ANTI-WAR FILM IN DISGUISE — There is a bigger purpose afoot in Taika Waititi’s movie and it’s this lesson. Yes, there is a premise here which gleefully jokes without boundaries, but the formative goals of pro-peace and anti-hate could not be more clear. To dig deep and evoke optimism out of both present and past anxiety, Waititi borrows this existential bit of poetry written by Pre-Nazi German writer Rainer Maria Rilke to frame his film:

Let everything happen to you

Beauty and terror

Just keep going

No feeling is final

If that citation doesn’t nail the filmmaker’s desire and respectful sentiment through all the wit and irony, nothing will.

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[lancecarr]

DP Mihai Malaimare Jr. on Capturing the Dark Comedy of Jojo Rabbit in Living Color

Jojo Rabbit is director Taika Waititi’s satirical send-up and equally sober analysis of Nazi fanaticism told through the whimsical musings of an aspiring Hitler Youth. With Waititi in the scene-stealing role of Adolf, 10-year-old protagonist Jojo Beltzer’s imaginary friend, the film is loosely based on the young adult novel Caging Skies, about a Jewish girl hidden by a German family during World War II. It features Roman Griffin Davis, in his screen debut, Scarlett Johansson, and an entourage of Nazi nitwits played with darkly comic precision by Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant and Rebel Wilson.

Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. was captivated by Waititi’s script, which he read one night while doing reshoots on his last film, The Hate U Give. He was on a Skype call with the director the following day. “For me, the whole thing happened really, really fast,” he says. “I went back home for four days before flying to Prague to start filming.”

We asked Malaimare about shooting in extreme low light with the Alexa SXT, the challenges of working with first-time actors, and what Waititi did to on set to get the best out of his youngest stars.

StudioDaily: What made Prague the ideal location for the film?

Mihai Malaimare Jr: It’s interesting because I’m from Romania, and the architecture is very similar. It felt familiar to me. Lucky for us, the Czech Republic was very careful with the way they let people install air conditioning units and dish antennas, mostly keeping them from public street views. So in these cities there that we filmed [Prague, Ustek, Chcebuz and Zatec], we could shoot pretty much in 360 without having too many elements to remove. When we took the cars and the street signs out, it definitely looked like the photo references of Germany from the 1940s during the war.

What did those references include?

Taika and I spoke quite a lot about the use of color, and the references came from everybody: the art department, production design, costume and makeup. I remember I had quite a shock when I first saw color footage from World War II, because we’re so used to seeing images from the war in black-and-white. All the costume samples and art sketches were full of vibrant color. I talked to Taika about how we could actually use that saturated palette to our advantage, to show Jojo’s world at the beginning of the movie, knowing that we wanted to mute the palette towards the end for the war scenes.

We’re seeing his world through his eyes, too, so at the outset, it’s a kind of personal Disney World of his imagination. 

Pretty much! 

Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis, right) and his imaginary friend Adolf (director Taika Waititi) in an early scene from the film. Training camp director Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) looks on. Photo by Kimberley French. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Tell me more about how and why you shot your widescreen images on the SXT.

We were shooting 1.3x anamorphic for 1.85:1. We did a lot of tests and went all the way from 1.33:1 to 2.40:1. We felt that 2.40 was too overly cinematic for our story, but we still wanted to keep the quality of anamorphic, which creates a certain velvety look in the skin tones and it does amazing things with the backgrounds. There is a way to use 2x anamorphic and cropping for 1.85, but you often lose the most interesting aspect of the lenses that way. We used the Hawk V-lite squeeze anamorphic 1.3x, and they allowed us to [achieve] a real 1:85 anamorphic ratio.

The attic room, where Jojo discovers Elsa hiding, was lit very differently from the other sets. How did that setup evolve?

We had a conversation about the attic room in prep before we built it. It was interesting because we realized that it would be strange for the audience if they didn’t know when it was daytime or nighttime in that space; it can not be pitch black every time. We worked off the idea that building a few vents at the bottom of the roof would allow us to see some daylight filtering in or a beam of sunlight reflected in a subtle way. That still allowed us to keep the space fairly dark but you could see a difference between day and night. For the nighttime, we went with candles and petrol lamps. For those scenes we used a set of spherical lenses called [Vantage One] T1, which allowed us to shoot wide open at T1, so it was more like a Barry Lyndon approach. The lenses are also made in Germany, so it was nice to have that support nearby when we needed it.

What was the trickiest part about working with the child actors? 

The kids were really terrific. Roman is unusual because, even though this is his first film, he grew up in the business [his father is cinematographer Ben Davis]. It was also the film debut of Archie Yates, who plays Jojo’s friend Yorkie. Inevitably, every single first-time actor will look straight into the camera at one point, but we never had this problem with Roman because he grew up around cameras. He was never intimidated by two big lenses pointing at him the whole time. The only challenge was the schedule, due to labor laws, for the young actors. They can only work 8 or 9 hours a day, including break time. This made it tough on the other actors because most of the time when you know you are running out of time, you can just use a photo double and shoot over the shoulder with the other actors. But what that means is probably their closeups will be toward the end of the day and they’ll have to act with somebody that’s not Roman, for example. Once we discovered that, it was our safety net, but definitely not ideal for the adult actors.

Jojo’s mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is the radiant — and colorful — heart of her son’s world. Photo by Larry Horricks. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

How did Waititi make his youngest actors feel comfortable on set?

Through a lot of rehearsals, mostly, then just blocking and figuring out how to shoot it. We only storyboarded the war scenes. This allowed all of the actors, but especially the kids, all the freedom in the world during rehearsals to search for the best way to convey the scene. We got so many interesting ideas from them during that process. I think you can see the results in the acting, because there’s nothing worse than telling an actor, “You better hit your mark or else you’re not in the light.” Our approach was to let them explore the scene first, and getting the ideas from them so we can figure out how to shoot the scene. It made everyone more comfortable on set.

What was your favorite place to film?

Definitely Jojo’s house, but particularly the hallway. I loved the way the wood panels would reflect the light and the way everything worked together with the wallpaper and all those practicals. It really felt amazing, no matter where you point the camera. Everything looked great in there.

As you mentioned earlier, the end of the film shifts to a much more muted palette. Did you do that in camera as well as in post? 

It was a little bit of both. We definitely played with the color temp feature on the lights and in camera. We also did some grading for the dailies before finalizing everything in the DI.

Malaimare used a Vantage One T1 lens to capture the low-light scenes featuring Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) and Jojo. Photo by Kimberley French. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

What did you appreciate most about Taika Waititi’s style as a director?

He had a rule that there were no cell phones allowed on set, and that created a really interesting working environment where everybody’s paying attention and people are talking to each other. Another thing I loved was that we did projected dailies, which very rarely happens these days. We didn’t do it every day, because we did have some very long production days. But on the other hand, if you do it once a week or twice a week and have everyone in the same room, it really pays off. It’s so different when you’re by yourself in a hotel room watching dailies on a small screen. It’s a totally different experience, even when it’s a small screening room. You get to experience the film the way the audience will, and that lets you see and react to things much differently. You can better judge focus and lighting. Pretty much everybody, from the production designer and costume designer to producers, was invited to the screenings, depending on how long of a day it was.

The post DP Mihai Malaimare Jr. on Capturing the Dark Comedy of Jojo Rabbit in Living Color appeared first on Studio Daily.

https://www.studiodaily.com/2019/11/dp-mihai-malaimare-jr-capturing-dark-comedy-jojo-rabbit-living-color/

[jillmckenzie1]

A Comedy of Terrors

Anything can be funny, right? There are two schools of thought, there. The first is the theory that anything has the potential to be amusing. Comedy is all about puncturing bubbles of pretention, going after targets that deserve skewering. As long as the joke teller is punching up instead of punching down, the only limitation is their imagination.

The other school of thought is that some subjects are too sacrosanct to be mocked and to even attempt them is, at best, in poor taste. We wouldn’t dream of making fun of the Nazis, right? Ah…as a matter of fact, we would! There’s a long and proud history of viciously clowning the dipshittery of the Third Reich in general, and of one Adolf Hitler in particular. A few examples of this:

  The popular English song, “Hitler Has Only Got One Ball”

Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 film The Great Dictator

Seuss’ children’s book Yertle the Turtle

Mel Brooks’ 1967 classic The Producers

The 2015 German satire Look Who’s Back

  It’s true that Hitler and the Nazis were the greatest evil of the 20th century. It’s also true that they were just as ridiculous as they were destructive. Look at the dopey uniforms, the pompous speeches, the fact that the people calling themselves the master race weren’t even attractive enough to appear in a Sears catalog. With the disturbing parallels between the Nazis and the current political climate, filmmaker Taika Waititi decided it was high time to remind us of the balance between humor and horror in his new film Jojo Rabbit.

 We’re introduced to Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), a ten-year-old boy living in Germany during the closing days of World War II. While other boys of his age obsess over cowboys or movie monsters, Jojo positively adores the Nazis. To say he’s a superfan is an understatement. Jojo has plastered his room with clippings and posters from the Third Reich, and one of his childhood dreams is being fulfilled. He’s going to a Hitler Youth camp!

The place is run by the semi-permanently drunk Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) and Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson). There, the kids will learn valuable skills preparing them to be cogs within the German war machine. It should be a glorious experience for Jojo, as he’s there with his best friend Yorki (Archie Gates). It isn’t, because after he’s told to strangle a bunny and refuses, the boy earns the nickname Jojo Rabbit.

Things are even tougher at home. His sister Inge has died from influenza, and his father is overseas, pursued by rumors that he’s a military deserter. The men left in his town are a collection of goofballs so useless that they can’t even be used as cannon fodder. That leaves Jojo with his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), a loving woman doing her best in trying times.

At least there’s one person who completely understands what Jojo wants. That would be Adolf (Taika Waititi), Jojo’s imaginary friend who bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain Fuhrer. Adolf pushes Jojo to be a pliant Nazi, but when he discovers his mother is sheltering the Jewish girl Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home, his beliefs get pushed to their limits.

To be sure, a chunk of people will never see Jojo Rabbit. A comedy about an adorable Nazi is kind of a big lift for some viewers. I get that and ask you to push past it anyway. Director Taika Waititi took the trainload of money he made from Thor: Ragnarok, and made a film combining his own zany sensibilities, the oeuvre of Wes Anderson, and a perceptive look at the rise of a nationalistic movement that’s both foolish and frightening.

You’ve seen World War II movies where Germany is shown to be a dreary land of grays and blacks. Waititi did his research and found that wartime Germany was actually highly stylish. His characters wear costumes that pop off the screen, portraying a seemingly joyful culture that’s rotting from within. Waititi pairs clips of ecstatic fans from Triumph of the Will along with a German-language version of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” showing us people willingly succumbing to the Nazi ideology. While his film pulses with energy, he makes sure we understand the very real stakes, and we can feel the shadows of the war and the Holocaust pushing on the margins.

Waititi is a very smart guy, and he again proves that with his hilarious and perceptive screenplay. He keeps his focus on Jojo at all times, allowing us to see wartime Germany through the filter of a boy. We’re also reminded that Jojo isn’t stupid, merely gullible. Scenes between him and his mother feel alarmingly close to the conversations that must happen with the parents of members of the Alt-Right. Additionally, his sequences between Jojo and Elsa are sharp. To gain favor from Klenzendorf, Jojo decides to write an exposé, and he interviews Elsa to learn her “Jew secrets.” It slowly transforms into a game, and as they play the game, Jojo learns that the girl he was told was a monster is actually a new friend.

The cast is uniformly excellent, and they all dial into a tone of absurd realism. I never knew how much I needed Scarlett Johansson playing a mom. She’s equally loving and sarcastic, and like all the best mothers, she allows her children to get away with only so much. Thomasin McKenzie’s Elsa has spiky edges and a genuinely sweet center. Child actors tend to, unfortunately, be not so hot, and that’s because directing children is difficult. The partnership between Waititi and Roman Griffin Davis is outstanding. As Jojo, Davis does something fairly incredible. He’s playing a likable and sweet boy who, at least initially, completely buys into the Nazi ideology. To play a character like this without making him loathsome takes no small amount of skill.

Let’s also take a moment to talk about Taika Waititi’s performance as Adolf. He’s a loudmouthed clown, constantly making terrible suggestions and offering Jojo cigarettes. His performance is over the top, nearly too much. I loved the outlandish energy he brought to each scene, and I loved just as much the half-Jewish, half-Maori Waititi playing Hitler, a fact sure to enrage white supremacists.

Jojo Rabbit is about the seductiveness of nationalism. It’s easy for propaganda to spread, for normal people to adopt outlandish ideas, and for a mean joke today to transform into ethnic cleansing tomorrow. Taika Waititi knows that, and his comedy shows us that an ideology thought dead in 1945 is alive and well in 2019.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/a-comedy-of-terrors/

[imagines4thepeeps]

Cute kid (Rosie Betzler x reader)

For: @bloomloudlyy

Request: Hello! I loved reading "I want to see the colors of your sky" even though it broke my heart 🥺 Can I make a request where Rosie introduces a nervous reader to JoJo for the first time? It's great to see more fics about her 💗

A/n: I hope you like it!!

Warning: nazis, Holocaust, homophobia, infertility, racism,

———————————————————————

“Rose? Rosie!? Are you there!?,” you knocked on the door loudly. Anxiety filled you with every rack of your fist against the cold door. Rosie, a friend from childhood turned unexpected lover, hadn’t been to work in three days and you were starting to get worried. She had mentioned the street she lived on in an off-hand conversation you had had once, and after a casual conversation with Captain K it wasn’t too hard to figure out where she lived.

You tried to control your breathing but there wasn’t much to keep you calm. Your mind wandered to all sorts of unpleasant places. Places filled with gas chambers and firing squads. She had mentioned a son, maybe she needed to take care of him. Or maybe she was gone and he was left to fend for himself. No! You couldn’t think like that, Rosie never did.

Rosie had a daughter you remembered the night she had cried on your shoulder about losing her. You couldn’t even imagine that pain, you also knew Rosie was strong. She had left the son a vague description of blonde hair and nazi fanatic. Most likely to protect him, but also there was a sense of shame when she said talked of how obsessed he was.

To be honest you were never a kid person. Your infertility being the only thing keeping you alive without kids in these times. Medals are now being awarded for every baby women have for their country. You couldn’t imagine being forced to have children for this cause. Consequently, though you had become quite awkward with kids, and eventually you would have to interact with Rosie’s. This only added to your nerves. You shivered to think of the little Hitler taking one look at you and proclaiming you less than Aryan perfection.

With that thought on your mind, the door swung open. Revealing a smiling Rose looking down to a little boy in a jungvolk uniform. When she looked at you her eyes widened in shock.

“Mom! I did it I opened the door!” The young boy shouted excitedly to his mother. She gave you a questioning look before congratulating her son. “Who are you?” The boy asked curiously.

“Jojo! Where are your manners darling cub this is your ....,” you quirked your eyebrow at the woman.

“Aunt.”

“Godmother.”

You both winced at the slip-up, having said the names at the same time. But Rosie took it in stride as she often does quickly recovering. “She’s half godmother, half aunt they are very rare you know,” she told the boy and his little blonde head nodded along in understanding. “In fact, I think you are the only boy in all of Germany to have one, isn’t that right (y/n)?”

“Oh uh .. yes certainly you are very lucky to have me.” Your heart was beating out of your chest as you waited for the boy's reaction. The boy shocked you when he pulled you into the home excitedly.

“So where have you been my whole life anyway?” He asked eyeing you curiously. Your eyes shifted between the boy and Rosie both awaiting your answer.

“I’ve been asking myself the same question kid.”

#rosie betzler x reader #rosie betzler #scarlett johansson x reader #Scarlett Johansson #taika waititi #jojo rabbit #jojo betzler #caging skies

[lesbian-deadpool]

can you make more rosie betzler fics😩😩

I could!

But I would need some sort of idea to go off of.

#anon #ask me some things #i answer some things #ldspeaks #rosie betzler x reader #rosie betzler imagine #rosie betzler #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff

[imagines4thepeeps]

I want to see the colors of another sky (Rosie Betzler x reader)

For: @tinycashcolorparty

Request: Could you do one were reader and rosie are laying in bed and they reader asks rosie what they will do after this is all over(after the war)and rosie tells reader cute stuff they will do together and then it cuts to reader seeing rosie's body hanging there

A/n: this is my first writing for Rosie and just this request alone was enough to make me cry.

WARNING: mentions of homophobia, death, Holocaust, nazis, antisemitism ——————————————————————

“Good night Jojo” Rosie and you both yelled at the door of your son’s room. Well, he was Rosie's son, yours by proxy.

“Night mum, night aunt (y/n)” the boy yelled back. His nose stuck in Hitler’s newest piece of propaganda. At that confirmation, you and your lover made your way to your shared room hand in hand. As far as Jojo knew his mother had given up all the spare beds to be used in the war effort. That’s why his godmother and mother had to sleep in the same bed.

Both, out of habit, looked all around to ensure none of the curtains had been left ajar. After your mental check, your shoulders relaxed and for the first time that day, you were with each other. Rosie layed down in the modestly uncomfortable bed first, her mischievous grin never wavering. She playfully patted the spot on her chest right above her heart, you knew instantly what that meant. You made your way to her, not before securely locking the door.

You wrapped your arms around Rosie, your head coming to her chest. Your ears were suddenly flooded with your favorite sound in the whole world, Rosie’s ever-steady beating heart. Following it delightfully was your favorite smell in the world. Rosie, in line with her name, always smelled of the rose bushes that lined your childhood home in the country.

“Rosie?” You asked out into the air. It was barely audible and you were certain she hadn’t heard.

“Yes, Meine Blume?” Your breath hitched at the nickname. Suddenly your mind whirled to the days before the war. At the time you and Rosie had met, your father was working for her family as a gardener and you as his apprentice. You both had been so happy in those days, so safe, so much life flowed through the very ground you walked on. It wasn’t that way now, everything was deadly still, and dark. Everything, except your Rosie.

“Where will we go?” You asked, once again basking in her intoxicating scent. She got silent for a moment." After the war I mean." you clarified.

“Mexico." she said excitedly," We will go to Mexico. I love the colors don’t you liebling?”

“Mexico?” You pondered,” Jojo would lose his mind!” You giggled as did Rosie.

“He would deal with it, we would live on the beach, bring Elsa with us too.” When she said the girl's name her voice lowered and took a somber tone. Quickly she went back to your future. “We’d swim every day and it would never get cold.” She sighed

You smiled at the thought,” Yes I think the sun would be good for all of us.” She hummed in agreement.

“You could have a full garden, and Jojo could learn to ride a mule, and I could just ...... dance. We could all dance. How I miss dancing.” She sighed sadly. You hopped up and quickly put a record on.

“Let’s dance right now.” You said holding your hand out to your love. Her eyes scanning you with humor. Nonetheless, she took your hand. You pulled her to you and swayed slowly to the flowing song. Your head went to her shoulder.

“He could finally call me mom.” You whispered. You froze when you realized what you had said. Rosie froze as well. When you pulled back from her shoulder, her eyes met yours. A single tear was running down her beautiful face. You lifted your hand wiping the tear away, you hated when she was sad.

“Yes, that would be amazing meine Blume.” She took your face in her hands,” we will be a family.” She brought your lips together, tears of happiness rolling down both of your cheeks. ——————————————————————— “Jojo?!” You called out. The boy ignored you though, continuing to hold on to ......... no.

Your heart sank and bile rose in your throat as something between a sob and a scream escaped you. Thank god no one cared, “too much loss for anyone to care” Rosie would say.

You felt your knees hit the ground before you knew what was happening. She looked all wrong. The life that once poured out of her snuffed out.  This was it. Nothing could continue for you without Rosie. There was no life outside of her.

Then you thought of poor little Jojo clinging to his mother’s legs. Your son losing the last shred of loyalty to his nation with her death. His light fading with every shaky breath and wretched scream. He needed you.

You thought of Elsa and her dead lover. Oh, how you couldn’t imagine that pain when you had learned of what happened. You didn’t have to imagine now. She was all alone in the heart of a country that hated her. Her only true friend in this world, now eerily silent. She needed you.

You thought of Mexico. Oh, how many nights had that warm sunburnt dream kept you going.

You thought of the garden you would fill. You thought of Jojo sitting atop an animal as stubborn as he is. You thought about Elsa finding her place in this world. You thought about dancing.

You thought about Rosie. Your sweet Rosie, who was stronger than oak but alive as a poppy field. She was warm and steady. She ........ was gone.

 Her last words to you before she left ringing in your ears.

“I’ve bought the tickets, when I get back we will leave this place far behind, and we’ll be a family.”

Family.

Yes.

Family.

That’s what Rosie had always been for you. Now you were that for Jojo and Elsa.

Shooting to your feet with a burst of energy you had no idea you possessed you stumbled to Jojo. The air in your lungs halted when suddenly it came out with a strangled exhale. You could smell her.

Rose bushes.

And death.

“Jojo”, your voice was quiet and barely there. “We need to go.” The boy held on ever tighter. How you wished to be allowed the comfort of a final hug. To put your head on her shoulder one last time.

“We have to go,” you forced out past your tears, but you knew he wasn’t budging. You wrapped your arms around his all too small waist. And lifted him, as he thrashed around, before settling to burry his head in your chest and cry.

 You carried the boy home and packed his things. Though you tried to be strong the tears never stopped falling. You packed a bag for yourself and Elsa.

And one with Rosie’s things as well.

“Where are we going miss (y/l/n)?” Elsa asked glad to be on the move once again. Jojo was silent, you doubted he would ever break free of that silence. You sure hadn’t in the weeks she’d been gone. After the day you found her you went back to give her a proper burial. Jojo had not attended, Elsa had.

“Home.”

#rosie betzler #Rosie betzler x reader #Scarlett Johansson #Scarlett Johansson x reader #jojo rabbit #jojo betzler #taika waititi