'Ninjababy' is an irreverent comedy on conception and creation

Upper West Side NY

16 March, 2022

2:44 PM

Description

Columbia Daily Spectator BY BELLA PECHATY MARCH 16, 2022 Rakel's list of life aspirations includes being an astronaut, a beer-taster, a globe-trotter, and a comic book artist. Nowhere to be found on her list was becoming a mother. But when an unknown culprit crawls into her womb with superhuman stealth and stays there, undetected, for over six months, Rakel is left too far along to terminate her surprise pregnancy. She calls this trespasser Ninjababy. Norwegian director Yngvild Sve Flikke and writer Johan Fasting based the film "Ninjababy" on the acclaimed graphic novel "The Art of Falling" by Inga Sætre. In this comedy-drama, the aimless partying of 23-year-old Rakel is brought to a screeching halt by the challenge of pregnancy and motherhood. She tries to rationalize the ordeal in the medium that makes the most sense to her—cartoons. The growing fetus inside Rakel emerges as a wisecracking, ninja headband-wearing doodle, an unlikely but eventually indispensable companion to the mess of past hookups and identity crises that follow Rakel. The film thrives on this absurd premise of a child being privy to the chaos of a person that brought them into the world. The unborn child meets its father for the first time and asks, "You had sex with that guy?" Even as the pointed dialogue in "Ninjababy" is played for laughs, it also explores Rakel's feelings of shame and loss of autonomy surrounding the unplanned pregnancy. Rakel's fierce loyalty to her lifestyle and creative pursuits fuels the energy of the film. Audiences can feel the growing panic of a young woman whose lifestyle, having effectively resisted all responsibility thus far, has now betrayed her. Prior to Ninjababy, Rakel could be found doodling on the walls of public bathrooms and doing psychedelic mushrooms with strangers in bars. Now, she haggles for cab fare on the way to her abortion appointment. Only when another life nests inside her does Rakel begin to consider how well she is able to safeguard her own sense of self, let alone the well-being of a fetus. Rakel handles the prospect of motherhood with the same hands-on vitality as her pre-pregnancy life. She balances her burgeoning relationship with the earnest Mos, a local martial-arts instructor, against that of Are, the deadbeat father of her child, nicknamed "Dick Jesus" for his sexual prowess and long hair. Objects of her misguided anger include boys without vasectomies, wealthy adoptive parents, and sperm in general, as her exasperation masks a deep fear of what she could be losing with each new choice she makes. Her anger eventually turns inward, as she begins to worry she has been "just wasting my life doodling shitty stick figures." These doodles—Rakel's unchecked emotion and creativity—worm their way into various shots, sparking around her when she connects with someone, or creating rainfall that only she can see. In moments where it seems she holds the least control, Rakel's drawings provide moments of honesty and raw emotion. Ninjababy, despite describing itself as a low-maintenance "cool fetus," is her toughest critic, often surfacing from her womb to heckle her drawings, complain about her messy room, and bemoan her dubious taste in men. Ninjababy's increasingly shrewd observations manifest Rakel's own insecurities. Despite being difficult at times, however, the humorous fetus is also an undeniable creation of Rakel's, direct a reflection of her blunt personality and a testament to her boundless imagination. Throughout the film, Rakel is frustrated with the men around her, who wield the privilege of helping create children without having to carry them to term. The creation of Ninjababy, however, is an act that is entirely her own. Once Ninjababy leaves her illustrated world and enters the real one, their relationship shifts irrevocably, but leaves her with a new perspective on how we live on through what we create. Staff writer Bella Pechaty can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @bella_pechaty. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.