Well here’s an intriguing little gem I’ve got for you all today. We just got word on an action-comedy heading our way that is so out of place it fits right in with us here at AITH. It’s a flick called NORWEGIAN NINJA and it’s coming our way from director Thomas Cappelen Malling. I’m not going to waste your time spitting facts about this one. Instead I’ll just give you all the lengthly description:
A true story of treason and espionage in Cold War-era Norway re-imagined by a writer-director who, as a 12-year-old, had his mind warped by a diet of Star Wars, 1980s Ninja movies, C64 video games and his dad’s spy novels, provides the bizarre source material and inspires the vision for Norwegian Ninja, the debut feature by author-turned-filmmaker Thomas Cappelen Malling.
Norwegian Ninja is a quirky, offbeat homage to everything from James Bond’s improbable spy shenanigans to B-movie Ninja flicks and post-modern Grindhouse culture to political conspiracy theory. Described as “quite possibly the most inventive and peculiar Norwegian film ever” (Tord Olander Pedersen, iTromsø.no) and “a refreshing Norwegian film in all its twisted boyhood fantasies” (Terje Eidsvåg, Adresseavisen) that “delivers plenty laughs and excitement” (Twitch), Malling’s film is a true original, a potent mix of fact, fiction and fantasy that is impossible to pigeonhole.
In reality, Norwegian Ninja’s main protagonist, Arne Treholt, was a former Norwegian social democratic politician and diplomat who, in the mid-1980s, was convicted of high treason and espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Iraq and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, in the eyes of the juvenile Thomas Cappelen Malling watching events unfold on the TV news, the handsome, hotshot diplomat was neither traitor nor spy. He was a skilled Ninja Master secretly working for King Olav V and defending the Norwegian Way!
When Commander Treholt (Mads Oussdal) and the highly trained members of his covert Ninja Force discover a sinister plot against Norway, they immediately leap into action to avert the crisis. Behind the devious plans for a coup-d’état that would effectively place the US in control of the country is Treholt’s nemesis, Meyer (Jon Oigarden), an operative of “Stay Behind”, an anti-Soviet force funded by NATO and with nefarious links to the CIA. As Treholt and Meyer wage a private and very personal war for the hearts and minds of the Norwegian people, the Ninja Force must fight to defeat Meyer’s co-conspirators in the name of King Olav’s battle cry, “All For Norway!” Meanwhile, Treholt is also occupied with the unenviable task of training a seemingly incompetent member of the Ninja Force to become his second-in-command.
Pretty intense right? But that’s not all! Along with all that we’ve also got a look at the trailer for the film over in our videos section. You’re going to want to check that shite out, so scroll on down below and enjoy! Then be sure to head on over to NORWEGIAN NINJA’s blog for more info and ‘Like’ that shite over on Facebook.
NORWEGIAN NINJA stars Mads Oussdal and Jon Oigardenis and is set to hit DVD on April 18th. But sure to check back before that though because we’ll have an exclusive clip for you guys to check out any day!
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