The title alone found me reaching for the Imodium, but what’s a critic to do after links to two preferable titles took a turn for the farblunget? At first glance, all one could think was a parabolic cross between The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (aka A Child’s Garden of Auschwitz) and the infantile pranksterism of JoJo Rabbit. But conquering my initial fears paid off: to my shock and surprise, this factual account of a Jewish family’s zigzagging exodus from pre-WWII Berlin — first to Switzerland, then to Paris, before eventually finding a safe harbor in London — was frequently engrossing and never cloying. (It’s based on the life of writer and illustrator Judith Kerr.) If Hitler wins the Chancellorship, Anna’s (Riva Krymalowski) father Max (Marinus Hohmann), an unmanageable critic of Nazism, will have his passport revoked, leaving the family no alternative but to bolt. Forced to play “Sophie’s choice” with her two stuffed toys, Anna sentences the titular cottontail to death by desertion, and it’s off to the Alps. It’s damn tough to get one’s mind around a film on this subject matter, where even the direst of events have a tendency to work out for the better. A pack of schoolboys chase Anna home, pelting her with stones along the way. No sooner does Dorthea (Carla Juri) hear her daughter’s cries for help than she’s outside confronting the leader for hating on the girl. “We love her!” is his blushingly contrary reply. And in light of the antisemitism that surrounds them, Max insists the best way to prove Nazis wrong is to live by example and show people that being Jewish is a good thing. (There’s even a brief entry on Christmas tree envy.) Admittedly, contemporary thinking has a nasty way of informing the characters, but at its best, this family film succeeds in placing Hitler’s rise to power in terms young people can understand, and with as little condescension as possible. Caroline Link directs. The 14th annual German Currents Film Festival will this year be held virtually in your living room from November 9-15. For more information click on the Official Website link. (2019) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.