I pride myself on having seen some of the oddest films ever produced, going as far as to actually seek them out and devour them, letting the self-conscious weirdness envelope me and enrich my wider filmic knowledge through their charming insolence and insouciance.
Norwegian Ninja was such a case: I saw the trailer almost by accident and was immediately gripped- how could you not be? It presents itself as a political espionage film, melding the true stories of convicted supposed spy Arne Treholt and the CIA/Nato operated underground organisations known as Stay Behind Forces with a cheeky and retro-filtered impertinence to create a tale of Ninjas and communists the likes of which has never been seen before. How else can you describe this film other than as a curious little oddity, an odd little curio? It is an experience, that is for sure, and it's
available to buy on DVD now. Okay, for the sake of parity, and to show exactly how impishly director
Thomas Cappelen Malling plays with the truth, I'll try and simply tell the true story of Arne Treholt- a man classed as Norway's most infamous spy and traitor- who now lives in exile in Cyprus. Treholt was convicted of being a Soviet spy in 1984 and sentenced to 20 years in prison after attempting to fly to meet Russian diplomats in Vienna. The controversy surrounding Treholt's conviction, and his subsequent pardon in 1992 by the Norwegian government have spurred on several conspiracy theories, and it is into this context that Malling's absurdist Ninja comedy arrives, claiming that Treholt was a Ninja master, leading a covert organisation of Ninjas in Norway's defence. Because that would be entirely plausible... Norwegian Ninja is a difficult film to watch, because it spends so much time winking at the audience, and revelling in its own silly sense of humour, which is presented with a stoically sensible tone that in itself is a humorous touch. It is a B-Movie, which looks like it was beyond cheaply-made and which reproduces the flaws of that medium almost perfectly: the pacing is well off, the narrative stunted in parts, and the acting is basement level quality in most cases. But that isn't really that much of a problem.
This is a very entertaining film nonetheless, because when a film is filmed and presented in such a way, its flaws are to be cast aside without consideration, other than as a further weapon in its comic arsenal. The film is about doing everything in as absurd a manner as possible, from the exaggerations of Ninja abilities to the ridiculous conspiratorial tone of the plot, and the style of filming fits this manifesto well. The absurdity is the main focus and thrust of the film- characters might get lost in the plot (which isn't helped by the fact that the bloody subtitles are minuscule), and flow might well be completely meandering, but these are merely the flimsy necessary offices of film-making that Norwegian Ninja uses to produce something a lot more fun. Who cares who well the film follows a linear narrative when it so brilliantly uses Feng Shui as a weapon? In all honesty, a conventional, and conventionally impressive film wouldn't fit the spirit of joyous silliness.
There's definitely a touch of the Monty Python lot in the silliness (and a touch of the stylistic leanings of Brit comedy Darth Marenghi's Darkplace)- both parties share a happy absurdity that belies their intellect and the complexity with which they plan their comedy- and fused with a very witty Scandinavian sense of humour that leads to a strange, but funny overall experience. If you have an eye, and a taste for the absurd, do yourself a favour and pick up Norwegian Ninja- chances are you wont have experienced much like this before. Here's another look at the trailer for anyone who hasn't come across the film before... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wNVjI9bJIk Norwegian Ninja is
available to buy on DVD now.