Jojo Rabbit for an 11 year old

[ilovelibraries]

Ok, posting here for traffic. I have read other reviews and Common Sense media and am still unsure what to do.

I really want to see this film. Tomorrow is the only chance I’ll get to see it in the cinema due to work patterns.

DS is 11. Seemingly too young in most people’s opinions. Except - he wants to see it and has a good understanding of the holocaust due to family history and frequent trips to Berlin and Amsterdam, where he has been to the Anne Frank museum. We had both family in NSDAP and Jewish family. He has quite a good understanding of it all.

So, would this make a difference to any of you who have seen it? If it’s still too tricky, I won’t go. But it seems a shame. But on the other hand, I don’t want to traumatise him. Any advice from anyone who has seen it very gratefully received.

THis may help www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/jojo-rabbit

I haven't seen it, but my pal text me today to say it was great and I should take my son (12). Pal is a teacher and wouldn't recommend if he thought it was totally unsuitable for that age, iyswim.

Felicity - yes, I checked that and it seems quite split. I’m wondering if a child not aware of the subject matter / sensitive child might be upset but my ds might be OK?

FHR - that’s good to hear. I might try it. I just didn’t want to traumatise him and feel bad!

Hmm. I saw it last night. There is one key scene where an important character dies in an unpleasant way (you don't see the moment of death but the aftermath). I have an 11-year-old daughter and wouldn't want her seeing it. So my vote would be no.

The scene mentioned above would be my only concern too. I just couldn’t think of a way to word it without giving spoilers.

I saw it last week - I teach 11-18 yr olds and have children and wouldn't recommend it for an 11 year old.

Fantastic film though.

Thanks. Is it more that event than the whole what went on in general that’s the concern?

Whatacarryon - out of interest, what age would you recommend it from?

I went with my 14-year-old. The scene in question is harrowing and brought tears to both our eyes. I don't think my 11-year-old would cope well with it, he's a sensitive soul.

There are also some combat scenes involving children that are disturbing. There's also humour and positive messages, but I think 11 is too young.
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My 11 year old son was fine. The scene mentioned above was upsetting for me but it was subtle enough to not be too graphic/upsetting for him. He is not particularly sensitive though.

Had I known this scene was in it, I may not have taken him, if I'm being honest. I purely went off the 12a rating, as he has watched a huge amount of films.

He was telling his sister about the film and the aforementioned part wasnt recounted.

GetTheStartyParted - see, I think my ds would be the same as yours. He’s not particularly sensitive either.

Tricky. The rating does seem to be at odds with the film.

I thought it was great but that scene was harrowing. I think most 12 years olds could cope with it but not too sure about an 11 year old. I’d err on the side of caution if I were you. You’ll be able to see it on DVD/digital soon enough b

@ilovelibraries based on your family background, I would take him to see it. The main character of Jojo is your son’s age roughly and he could likely empathize with him regarding all the absurd things the Nazi regime made children do. I have a feeling that outside the Anne Frank House experience, much of the material he’s been viewing has been through the lens of adults and not children. This may be a good resource to add to his understanding of how things progressed. There are a lot of good references to things the regime did but seem utterly bonkers to our modern eyes. A good example of this was giving soldiers paper/cardboard uniforms because they were running out of money toward the end of the war. Other absurdities are the crazy beliefs Jojo has about Jews that were taught in schools and popular culture at that time. The constant barrage of those hateful ideas may be a shock to him but I don’t think you should necessarily shy away from it.

Take your son. It’ll be good fodder for discussion.

You know when you watch kids films like Shrek and there's jokes in there for the parents? I think this is like that. I was bought to tears in 2 parts. One bit totally bypassed my 15 year old son and my husband was bored throughout.
I think it's a bloody clever film and tackles a hard subject in a way that makes it easier to digest.
It's on a par with a monster calls - incredibly upsetting but only if you're old enough to get what's being suggested

@AmIAWeed that’s a great way of putting it.

OP, I also think some posters are maybe being a bit precious as well. There’s no point in shielding your children from everything. Some children can’t afford that.

Thanks Jings. That’s kind of what I feel. He is a mature 11 year old and sadly does know some awful things about what happened in the holocaust. As a family we’ve never shied away from this as it’s very much our family history and still seems very recent to some of us. Conversely, I also have family completely on the other side. We do discuss how people could have those beliefs. I think this will just add another layer for him.

He has studied WW2 at school and watched a series of German tv programmes which explained aspects of growing up as a kid in 1930s Germany. And we’ve read a number of books, notably Hanna’s suitcase, which has a sad ending. But I guess they will be tame by comparison.

I watched it with my 12 year old. I would recommend it. The scene in question is not explicit and as others said might go un noticed. It is a good film for talking about following ideology blindly.

Thanks all. Food for thought. I think it would be a good film for us to see. And if it leads to further discussion, so much the better!

Did you watch the film? 🙂

Yes we did and we both loved it. It was interesting to see what he picked up on and what he didn’t. He wasn’t upset by any of it - I would have been surprised if he was, as he’s quite robust. I can see that it’s not for more sensitive souls though.

That's great! DD (14) got a lot out of it as well.

It’s certainly food for thought. The difference between the realities of being a child in WW2 Germany and England (Jojo Rabbit and, say, Goodnight Mr Tom) is very raw here. I loved his friend. In fact they were all great characters.

So glad you took your son to see it @ilovelibraries! And I also loved Jojo’s best friend, Yorki, he was so adorable. I wanted to hug both of them all the time.

Me too Jings. Thanks for the reassurance. The boys did hugs so well.