Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: NINJABABY [SxSW Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The texture of responsibility done with a sense of humor is sometimes hard to balance depending how life changing the circumstance. In "Ninjababy" [Global], an unwanted by a fun loving girl with a conscience and a good head on her shoulders shows both the humanity and awkwardness of such a situation without it being too heavy or going overboard to perhaps slapstick in a way. The setting outside Oslo makes it all the more universal and, to be honest, inclusive because it brings in so many discussions without hitting one over the head with it. Rakel (played with humor and heart by Kristine Kujath Thorp) is stuck in a situation where it is too late to get an abortion and yet the set up (where she doesn't even know she is pregnant for the first 6 months) leads to a plethora of shenanigans. "Ninjababy" itself is her projection of the baby growing inside her which takes on an animated form like an Id. While it skirts the American perception perhaps of political correctness, in the European context, it has its own rhythm where the intersection of life tends to happen and is messy. The film is not dark in that way but there is a bit of heartbreak while understanding the nature of both the primal and human ego. For as strong as Rakel is, there are moments that are so inherently human and lovable that it breaks any mold, whether she is sitting outside with a guy she likes while pregnant and he says all the right things in slightly the wrong way or the look of heartbreak in her eyes when she is in a hospital bed just before something happens. "Ninjababy" doesn't pretend to have any of the answers and leans into the awkwardness but is never melodramatic or too aware of itself. Even in the final moments, so much is said without saying anything, so you know its working. B+

By Tim Wassberg