Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1199625
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JANUARY 2020 FILM ENVIRONMENT icate loveliness by McKenzie. Taking her captivity in stride, accepts her role as instructive big sister to Jo- hannes with sneaky relish, and their exchanges are the true emotional trajectory of the story. Already juggling both script and direction, Waititi throws himself into the role of Jo- hannes' imaginary Hitler su- per-ego – a clownish Tyler Durden shrunk down for a Young Adult crowd. 'Looney Tunes' may be used dispar- agingly every now and then, but Waititi's Bugs Bunny-like contortions are really a testa- ment to his masterful skills at physical comedy, of the like we haven't really seen in a mainstream feature of this kind since perhaps Johnny Depp's early experiments with Jack Sparrow. Waititi's trademark vigour does however appear to lose steam throughout the direct- ing process, where he defaults to a kind of 'Wes Anderson lite' mode which does offer a clean palette and neat rhythm to the proceedings – allowing the exchanges between Jo- hannes and Elsa to thankfully take centre stage – but which does rein in some of the cha- otic energy that has become something of a trademark for this inspired trickster. We can chalk this down to him being somewhat cau- tious with the material at hand – no farcical vampires or pseudo-Norse superheroes here – and accept it all as the necessary steps of a filmmak- er with great skill, growing at his own pace. JoJo Rabbit is currently screening at Eden Cinemas, St Julian's, and will be show- ing at Spazju Kreattiv, Val- letta on the following dates: January 28 and 31; February 6, 9, 15, 21 and 23 (all shows at 19:30 apart from February 9 at 17:30) JOJO RABBIT PETER RABBIT RABBIT'S FOOT RUN RABBIT RUN DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Ask anyone to sketch a flower and they'd invariably draw you a daisy. That simple pattern of radiating petals with a disk in the middle is so quintessentially 'flower', isn't it. Well, daisies and their relatives form one of the biggest flower families on the planet, and we're not short of them here either, with well over 100 species. One that's starting to bloom now is the field mari- gold (M. suffejra tar-raba'). It's a short plant but lots of them often grow together to form a carpet. The small flowers each sport a score of orangey yellow petals around a darker middle. The field marigold grows commonly along country lanes and field margins. Sadly this species falls within the 'weed' category, its crime being that it grows wild. So men armed with herbicides and grasscutters are sent out to rid our roadsides of pesky field marigolds and other 'ħaxix ħażin'. How sad and silly is that? Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon 694. FIELD MARIGOLD Mother of the revolution: Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) does her best to ease her son Johannes (Roman Griffin Davis) out of his Hitler Youth fanaticism in Taika Waititi's inspired and quietly subversive sixth feature film Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 592 Find out more: www.foemalta.org/goodfood The verdict Taika Waititi's sixth feature proves that the comedic Kiwi made good is ready to stretch his creative muscles when he could very easily have rested on his laurels, which is proof enough of commitment to the craft, if nothing else. And al- though JoJo Rabbit may lack the irresistible zaniness of What We Do in the Shadows, or the pitch-perfect coming- of-age comedy of Hunt for the Wilderpeople, it more than makes up for it with the sub- versive edge of its concept and the sneaky moral courage that underpins its whole operation. It may not be 'edgy' high-con- cept political comedy of the kind Chris Morris excels in and Sacha Baron Cohen manages in his better moments. But its refusal to give in to either total sentimentality or total cynicism may just be the balm we need in these bitter times. ★ ★ ★ ★ JOJO RABBIT (12+) Help and support Maltese producers' and their products. Eat healthy, local and seasonal! Contribute directly to the local economy and shorten the food supply chain. You can decide who you want to support. Help us to contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture! Support local farmers