Official Synopsis:
A fictionalized account of the most
notorious political scandal in Norwegian history, Norwegian Ninja is
a deliciously tongue-in-cheek spoof of the Cold War spy movie, with
added ninja action. Because, as everyone knows, every story can be
made better with ninjas. Blending historical events with his own
less-than-historical elements, writer-director Thomas Cappelen
Mailing creates the Rushmore of ninja films, a film that wryly
questions just how truthful the truth really is. And then sends a
ninja to punch the truth in the face.
Our Take:
According to Wikipedia, Arne Treholt
was a Norwegian politician and diplomat convicted of treason as a
Soviet and Iraqi in “the most serious spy case in the modern
history of Norway.” However, the revisionist satire Norwegian Ninja
chooses to add another dimension – that he was also a member of the
Ninja Force of the King of Norway.
Reclaimed as leader of a crack squad of “Ninjas” who seem more like a Nordic “A-Team,”I suppose this is a bit like an American recasting Alger Hiss as James Bond? If the film's political and satirical dimensions escape you (as they did with this viewer), one can still enjoy the sense of humor, witty eye of eighties detail, and some surprisingly effective CGI as these “GI Svens”of the “Ninjatroppen” defend the Norwegian way of life. The look, however, is frequently more seventies than eighties, but the verve of this film gives it a delightful uniqueness. One set-piece especially, involving an oil-rig, is so creative that any limitations of the computer effects are quickly forgiven.
