The subject matter in Jojo Rabbit would not seem to be ripe for comedy: During WWII, a young German boy discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Apparently, writer/director Taika Waititi thought otherwise, though. He has used that premise as the basis for a gut bustingly funny and also touching film that is as crowd-pleasing as they come.

Newcomer Roman Griffin Davis stars as Johannes “Jojo” Bitzler, a fervid 10-year-old member of the Hitler youth. He and his good friend Yorki are training to be child soldiers when Jojo gets injured by a grenade and becomes housebound for his recovery. While getting better, he discovers a Jewish girl, Elsa, hiding in the walls of his family home. She is there at the invite of Jojo’s mother Rosie, played by Scarlett Johansson. Jojo is forced to keep his discovery a secret, so he proceeds to question Elsa, to learn more about the Jewish race and what he thinks are their evil ways. Through this time spent together, the two youngsters become reluctant friends and perhaps more, in Jojo’s eyes. The SS are on the prowl though, and they’d like nothing more than to discover a hidden Jewish person like Elsa or expose any kind of aid being given to her or her likes. Through their experiences, Jojo just might learn that Nazism isn’t all its cracked up to be and that Jews are flesh and blood, just like him, and not the monsters they’ve been painted as by Hitler and his party.

Waititi himself appears as Jojo’s imaginary best friend Adolf. The riskiest gamble of the film is to have him appear to Jojo, a buffoonish caricature spewing hatred and the like to the impressionable boy. It ends up being so over the top as to be comical, and much of the hilarity of the film lies in the interaction between the two.

Also bringing much levity to the proceedings is Sam Rockwell as Captain Klenzendorf. He is first Jojo’s Hitler youth instructor and later takes him under his wing, employing the boy in the city after taking the blame for his injury. The character is not at the level of ridiculousness as the imaginary Hitler, but is similarly silly and pompous, making for quite a few laughs in the picture.

The movie contains much heart, as well, and the majority of it lies in two places. Jojo has a very loving, though somewhat complicated relationship with his mother. She loves her little boy wholeheartedly but hopes for him to grow out of this Nazi phase and come back to her the beautiful innocent he was before. Jojo’s relationship with Elsa also develops into quite the moving story. He tries to use her at first, for his research, but ends up caring about her and seeing past the Nazi lies his head has been filled with.

Multihyphenate Waititi has had an eye for comedy when it comes to directing, developing a visual style that is equal parts Wes Anderson and Jared Hess. Obvious since his debut with Eagle vs. Shark, he has refined said style over the years, and Jojo Rabbit would appear to be its apotheosis.

I can’t recommend Jojo Rabbit highly enough. It will hit you in the funny bone and the heart in equal measure. Films like this don’t come around too often, and you will be missing out if you don’t make the effort to catch it when it hits theaters in October. All praise goes to Taika Waititi for crafting such a unique and wonderful film, that has so far been delighting moviegoers on the festival circuit and will surely continue to do so in its upcoming theatrical release.

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