After starring at international festivals, this Norwegian comedy based on a comic is released with a certain vision of motherhood, not always desired
We can’t complain about the variety of premieres that fill the billboard. ‘Ninjababy’ arrives on the face-to-face screening circuit after a successful walk through countless international festivals, where it has garnered delight, such as the Audience Award at the D’A Film Festival in Barcelona. It has already been recognized as Best Comedy at the European Film Awards and it seems to be one of those privileged titles that, thanks to word of mouth, can survive in the theaters -especially in VOS-, such as currently the Basque production ‘Cinco lobitos’ . Both works speak of motherhood from an original, unrelated perspective, confirming the growing interest in the female gaze in cinematographic art.
They deal with unusual topics with a new vision, which is appreciated so that audiovisual creativity does not stagnate. From Norway, a bittersweet film is presented, inspired by a recommended Fallteknikk comic by Inga H. Sætre, published by Pez Dorado in our market under the title ‘The art of fall’. Directed by filmmaker Yngvild Sve Flikke, with little CV but many ideas. The confrontation of a twenty-year-old with an unwanted pregnancy is the basis on which a story is built that freezes the smile and invites reflection on a taboo topic.
One of the features that make ‘Ninjababy’ unique is the use of some animation pieces, well integrated into the whole. Its realization is carried out by the author of the graphic novel himself, who is involved in the project. The young protagonist’s relationship with the baby on the way is thus portrayed with irony and a certain bad drool. Kristine Kujath Thorp (‘The North Sea’) embroiders her role as a woman who is unceremoniously labeled a bad mother. She finds out too late that she is pregnant, she can no longer have an abortion and it had never occurred to her to suddenly become an adult. She loves parties and excesses too much, but has to radically change her existence.
She shares a flat, lives a precarious life as an illustrator by profession and it was not her plan to settle down right away. The lack of interest in being a mother forms the backbone of a revealing dramatic comedy that opens up more than one melon about current affairs. His vision is fresh and moving, perhaps crude for a certain audience, but bold and witty. Thanks to the animated fragments of the fetus, some frenzied scenes soften the seriousness of the situation, which is deepened by humor. The collection of characters parading through the frame, with their contradictions, is endearing. This proposal puts everything on the line and has found the promotional support of a number of well-known cartoonists from these regions, including Ana Oncina, Elisa Riera, Quan Zhou (“Bittersweet Gazpacho”) or Anastasia Bengoechea (“Spaghetti Monster”).
‘Ninjababy’ is a fine example of European cinema, along the lines of the critically acclaimed ‘The Worst Person in the World’, which was also released this season. Biting and eloquent, she tramples on the clichés of motherhood, contemplates a surprise, unwanted pregnancy and its consequences in the search for her own identity. Aesthetically cared for, with good character development, which we don’t always have to like, it invites you to laugh and cry, sensations always welcome in the darkroom.
Source: La Verdad
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