Unveiling the Hidden Layers: A Riveting Scene-by-Scene Dive into “JoJo Rabbit” Script Mastery
Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:
After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.
For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.
The value of this exercise:
- We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
- By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
- A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.
Today: Jojo Rabbit (2019). You may download a PDF of the script here.
Screenplay by Taika Waititi, based upon the book ‘Caging Skies’ by Christine Leunens.
Plot Summary: A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy named Jojo whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler , Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
Jojo Rabbit
Scene by Scene Breakdown
By Gareth Boucher
GoIntoTheStory.com1: 1944. JOHANNES BETZLER (Jojo), 10, gets dressed at home in his Hitler Youth uniform, topping it off with a pencil-drawn Hitler mustache. He tries his best to wink at a poster of his Hitler, but can’t quite figure out how to do it.
2: Jojo and his goofy best friend YORKI give “Heil Hitler”s to passersby on the streets of Vienna and plan to make a good impression at the Hitler Youth training weekend. Jojo wants to get into Hitler’s special guard early, and dreams of being a model Nazi.
