Combining a tragedy of this proportion with humor, even if it is satirical, is a precarious tightrope walk that director Taika Waititi performs with panache.

I suspect the strangely good-natured feel of the film will win the hearts of many viewers, but my own head remained too muddled by its uneven and oddly indecisive approach to embrace whatever quirky virtues it may possess.

Taika Waititi's most daring film isn't his most successful. But among the tonal clashes there's real hope, humanity, and no-bones-about-it Nazi-bashing at a time when that's depressingly necessary.