''Norwegian Ninja'' ( no, Kommandør Treholt & ninjatroppen) is a 2010 Norwegian

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

film, directed by

Thomas Cappelen Malling Thomas Cappelen Malling (born 16 December 1970) is a Norway, Norwegian author and director, born in Kongsvinger. He hails from the Communications Industry, where he worked in Strategic planning. In 2006, Malling wrote the book ''Ninjateknikk II. ...

. The film, based on a 2006 book, presents real-life espionage-convicted

Arne Treholt Arne Treholt (born 13 December 1942) is a Norwegian-born, Russia-based convicted felon and former KGB agent who was convicted of treason and espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union against Norway during the Cold War and sentenced to 20 years in p ...

as the leader of a

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

group saving Norway during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

and stars

Mads Ousdal Mads Ousdal (born 8 December 1970) is a Norwegian actor. He worked as an actor at Den Nationale Scene from 1996 to 1998, at Oslo Nye Teater from 1998 to 1999, and at Nationaltheatret from 2000. He played in the film ''Detector'' from 2000 and in ' ...

as Treholt. The film is loosely based on the story of Norwegian politician and diplomat

, who in 1985 was convicted of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

on behalf of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In 2006,

wrote the book ''Ninjateknikk II. Usynlighet i strid 1978'' ("Ninja Technique II: Invisibility in combat 1978"). The book was presented as a military manual written by Treholt in 1978. It achieved a certain

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

status, and was considered a success at 5,000 units sold.

Plot

The story, set during the

, involves the conflict between the Norwegian ninjas,

King Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

's secret army tasked to maintain Norway's independence, and a clandestine stay-behind group who carry out false flag operations that get blamed on

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

Cast

Jon Øigarden Jon Øigarden (born 31 May 1971) is a Norwegian actor, who is well known for his role as journalist Peter Verås in the TV series ''Mammon'', Jarl Varg in Norsemen, and other Norwegian films. Career Jon Øigarden was educated at the Norwegian Na ...

as Otto Meyer *

Trond-Viggo Torgersen Trond-Viggo Torgersen (born 14 June 1952 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian physician, broadcaster, television host, actor, comedian, singer, songwriter, artist and former children's ombudsman. Artistic career Torgersen started in NRK making progra ...

* Linn Stokke as Ragnhild Umbraco *

Amund Maarud Amund Maarud (born 7 April 1981 in Nes, Akershus, Norway) is a Norwegian blues/rock musician (guitar, vocals) and composer, known as a solo artist and as frontman of rock bands The Grand (2005-2010) and the duo «Morudes» (2010 -) with his brot ...

as Bumblebee *Martinus Grimstad Olsen as Black Peter *Øyvind Venstad Kjeksrud as Øystein Fjellberg *Henrik Horge as Kusken

Production

In December 2008 the Norwegian Film Institute gave a support to film project made by Cappelen Malling with

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

10.5 million, in spite of the fact that the author had no previous experience from the movie industry. The book forms the basis for the film, where an alternative universe-Treholt leads a group of ninjas set up by then-King

Olav V Olav V (; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway and Maud of Wales. He became heir apparent to the Norw ...

to combat the Soviets. The original working title was ''Nytt norsk håp'' ("New Norwegian Hope"), and the total budget was NOK 19 million. The producers describe the story as taking place directly before Treholt's arrest in 1984, presenting "the true story of how Commander Arne Treholt and his Ninja Force saved Norway during the Cold War". Cappelen Malling himself describes the film as "alternative history", but only in the sense that all history is alternative. Treholt himself has allegedly given his consent to both the book and the movie. The absurd premise of the film secured a great deal of media attention for it ahead of its release. ''

Aftenposten ( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...

'', in January 2010, predicted it would be one of the most absurd works of Norwegian cinema. ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'' quoted producer Eric Vogel, saying that "something like this has never been made in Norway before. Or in the world, as far as I know!" They also interviewed

, who portrayed Treholt in the film, describing the role as very different from anything he had done previously. Comedian Trond Viggo Torgersen played the part of King Olav V.

Reception

Although the movie was not a big box-office success, it did receive some very good reviews. J.S. Marcus of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'': "Hilarious and menacing, absurd and insightful, and an accomplished work of genre film making that authoritatively upends the cold-war spy thriller".

References

External links