If the previous films of the Márta Mészáros cycle poke occasional fun at the system, her 1984 semi-autobiographical Diary for My Children is openly critical of the regime. Which is amazing considering that Goulash Communism still had five years to go. Then again, Hungary was relatively liberal by the Eastern Bloc standards. Starring Zsuzsa Czinkóczi as Juli and Jan Nowicki as János and, in flashbacks, Juli’s father.
Unusually for me, I kept worrying that something bad will happen to the protagonists, to say nothing of the dog. But no. Of the three films of Marta Mészarós cycle I’ve seen so far, Just like Home, starring Jan Nowicki as András, Zsuzsa Czinkóczi as Zsuzsa and Anna Karina (Alphaville) as Anna, is the closest thing to comedy. Could it be that the title indeed refers to the director’s own feelings towards her native country at that particular time?
If The Girl (1968) was the first film directed by a woman in Hungary, Adoption became the first ditto to win the Golden Bear in 1975. To put things in perspective: it was not until 2010 that either the Oscar for Best Director or BAFTA Award for Best Direction went to a woman — in this case, the same woman, Kathryn Bigelow.
No doubt some people will dismiss the premise of this documentary (just like that of Couleur de peau: miel) as a first-world problem. Born in Sri Lanka, Priyangika “Priya” Samanthie, as a baby, was adopted into a Norwegian family. She grew up in Norway. She is Norwegian. What else does she want?
“I had been growing up with those TV shows where adoptees meet their parents, they run toward each other, everything is fine and then they end the show”, says the director. Well Priya’s story is different. Yes she travels to her birthplace to find her biological mother, and no, not everything is fine.
At times the film has a bit of soap opera feel, what with a mystery of Priya’s real father, or a surprise reencounter with her never-known-before sister. So what? Life is stranger than soap opera. Even the stereotypical “culture clash” rings true. When Priya, visibly upset, tells her — surely loving — adoptive father about some, er, irregularities in her adoption process, his reaction is: “I’ll have to reflect upon it”.
“It is absurd to move a child from one continent to another and give them a Norwegian name”, says Priya. A valid counterpoint to the hilarious scene in Ninjababy where the heroine, in her “Fatima” mode, accuses the wannabe parents of racism for not willing to adopt from abroad.
Some films provide such obvious American remake fodder that you just want to draw a protective circle around them to ensure that people experience the unassuming charms of the original.
From imaginary and picturesque vikingdom to modern-day Norway: grey, rainy, with the sea nowhere in sight. Norwegians nowadays ain’t no Vikings either: yes they still can shout “Blood and suffering!” but only when playing Warhammer.
I hope this does not discourage you from watching Ninjababy. Who cares about the Vikings anyway?
Based on the graphic novel Fallteknikk (Fall Technique) by Inga Sætre and featuring the latter’s animation, this hilarious and poignant film stars Kristine Kujath Thorp as Rakel, Nader Khademi as Mos, and Arthur Berning as aptly nicknamed Pikkjesus (“Dick Jesus”, or “Jesús de las pollas” in Spanish subtitles); the animated Ninjababy is voiced by Herman Tømmeraas. Watch out for the scene of Rakel posing as Fatima at the pre-adoption meeting for prospective parents.
A few weeks after seeing the film of the same name, I discovered the book on which it is based in our public library. This Spanish edition includes the first and second books that were originally published in French as separate volumes.
I enjoyed the animation but I liked the book’s black-and-white pencil drawings more. In any case, these are two completely different works of art. For example, the period of Jung’s stay with Father Pierre is developed much more in the movie compared with the book. On the other hand, the story of relationship with his pen-pal Sylvie is absent from the film altogether.
Another Documental del Mes offered by Filmoteca Canaria: a touching animated memoir of Korean-Belgian comic strip artist Jung, shown in French, with Spanish subtitles, under its international English title Approved for Adoption. I love this!
The animation, somewhat reminiscent of Only Yesterday, blends organically with the Super 8 archive footage; much less so with the scenes of Jung’s “present day” (the film was released in 2012) trip to South Korea.
The phrases “Skin color: honey” and “Approved for Adoption” appear in the real dossier of Jung Sik-jun.
After reading a review of this film in The Big Issue at the time, I fully intended to watch it... that never happened. Until now, that is. They were showing it on Spanish telly in the small hours of Saturday. Ellen Page shines in the title role, with some exceptionally good (I mean it) support of the fellow actors. The soundtrack features several songs by anti-folk singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson — what a treat.
