Review of Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) by Michael D — 22 Dec 2010

'Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale' appears comical to film-goers from outside of Finland, primarily because the story of Father Christmas is different to Finlanders and Europeans than it is to the rest of the world. However, that didn't stop it from being a purposely-funny action-fantasy flick.

The film takes place in Northern Finland's Korvatunturi Mountains, near the Russian border. A digging team sets out to find the mythological resting place of Santa, who is supposedly buried deep inside the mountains. Similar to 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', a negative outcome is expected.

What made this film amusing wasn't necessarily the John McClain/Die Hard-esque image you see from little Pietari (Onni Tommila), but the fact that Santa Claus is the obverse image of the "Coca-Cola" Father Christmas who is known and understood by many. The fact is, to many Europeans (especially Scandinavians), Santa Claus supposedly resides inside the Korvatunturi Mountains and can "hear" what all the children are saying and doing, thereby being able to judge whether they are naughty or nice. The film didn't have a random reason for being faux-scary or odd. Instead, it was a children's tale that was taken and turned into a silly fantasy/action film.

Was the film stupid? Well, kind of. However, it didn't come off as amateurish or behind-in-times. In fact, everything from the wide-scape shots of the beautiful scenery to the haunting music were well done. Lame character development, but who cares; it's a fantasy film about Santa.

See it? Sure. Have a laugh. Don't let the trailer fool you as it had all of the best parts. Oh, and don't bother taking your kids to see this film if you want them to maintain a nice image of St. Nick.