Ninja Baby (2021)

Directed by: Yngvild Sve Flikke | 103 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Kristine Kujath Thorp, Arthur Berning, Nader Khademi, Tora Christine Dietrichson, Silya Nymoen, Evelyn Rasmussen Osazuwa, Trine Wiggen, Morten Svartveit, Janne Heltberg, Kjærsti Odden Skjeldal, Marit Røste, Kristian Mehlum Lie, Eriksstadias, Johan Kolstad Ingar Steen, Espen Leite, Thorbjørn Hesland, Anita Gulliksen, Bella Sjöholm, Frida Øystese Haave, Olivia Voldheim Hernæss

The brash twenty-something Rahel kind of lives between her drawing board and bed. Lately she has been experiencing morning sickness and unusual binge eating. While roommate Ingrid is ringing alarm bells, Rahel does not really get through yet, she turns out to be pregnant. This is anything but convenient for her. Then it dawns on Rahel: wasn’t it that wonderful sex with the boy who smelled like butter, Mo or something? As a dryly comic tale about a bold young woman, Scandinavian ‘Ninjababy’ shoots from the starting blocks and races like a unique chunk pilot to an impactful ending.

Life can sometimes be an extraordinary mess, unexpectedly complex overnight. The selfish Rahel also seems ill-suited for parenthood, as she struggles enough to take care of herself. However, while Rahel can act like a bitch of toddlerish proportions, a long-lost Scandinavian niece of Harry Block from “Deconstructing Harry” (Woody Allen, 1997), the film manages to arouse sympathy for her and the situation she finds herself in, a decision for the rest of two lives.

The filmmakers have beautifully intertwined the animation with the film. In this way Rahel’s unborn child, ninja baby, comes to life in a minimalist and sketchy style, which stands in a joking contrast to the otherwise realistic images. The animated baby is a bleak twist on the talking babies in ‘Look Who’s Talking’ (Amy Heckerling, 1989). Ninjababy surfs on Rahel’s stormy state of mind during her pregnancy and the film boldly leaves out whether that storm is mainly the result of pregnancy hormones or her personal background. A precarious balance.

Like ‘The Playlist’ (Antico, 2021), ‘Ninjababy’ is also about a woman who would rather draw than breathe and has its roots in autobiographical comic novels. At one point, Rahel and Mo end up in a bookshop where she tells him passionately about ‘Blankets’ by the American cartoonist Craig Thompson. This comic book tells the story of a young man (the author) breaking out of a stifling childhood in a deeply religious community and of his first love. For once, no creatures with superpowers who hardly ever feel a headwind, but the representation of everyday problems and the hidden beauty in failure and social trivialities.

Although ‘Ninjababy’ cleverly avoids the melodrama, just like the main character, the film arms itself with sharp and sardonic humor, it is no secret how heavy this moment in Rahel’s life is. It is not so much the smooth animation and rousing humor that steal the show, but rather the idea that doubt about big choices is a transformative part of life. And it wants to surprise more often than we would like. The bittersweet ‘Ninjababy’ is therefore not preachy about unwanted pregnancy, but above all provocative in its imagination, avoids simplicity and is close to cathartic.