Weird Exports (2010)

Directed by: Jalmari Helander | 84 minutes | action, comedy, fantasy | Actors: Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, Per Christian Ellefsen, Ilmari Järvenpää, Peeter Jakobi, Jonathan Hutchings, Risto Salmi, Jens Sivertsen, Sigmund Bøe, Olav Pedersen, Nils M. Iselvmo, Nils M. Iselvmo, Nilsar Nymostad

‘Rare Exports’ confirms the suspicion that Christmas films are fun for viewers aged sixteen and older. This Finnish-made fantasy film with horror features has a lot to offer: it gives a fascinating insight into the culture of the Sami (better known to us as Lapps), shows the Finnish landscape in all its beauty, is contrarian, original and playful and gives you the chills every now and then. The hero of the story is little Pietari, a Sami lad who discovers that a shady businessman had a frozen Santa dug up from the ice. Just to be clear: this is not the jolly fat man we know from the Coke commercials, but the cruel child-eater from the old legends. Soon the reindeer’s blood turns the snow red and all the children in the area disappear, but Pietari is not easy to catch. He mobilizes the villagers and devises a plan to save his friends and recover the income lost due to the untimely death of the reindeer herd.

The nice thing about ‘Rare Exports’ is that it contains all the ingredients of a traditional Christmas film, yet it is far from conventional. There are reindeer, presents, a Santa Claus who loves children very much in his own way and a child who is the undisputed hero of the story, but director Jalmari Helander knows how to give everything a surprising twist. The reindeer in ‘Rare Exports’ will no longer pull a sleigh, Santa Claus is a bloodthirsty primeval god with equally brutal helpers and to greet Father Christmas the young hero in question places a bear trap in the fireplace. Even child haters will be captivated by little Pietari (Onni Tommila), who, with a cuddly toy under his arm, commands the adults around him like a true field marshal. Those sugary kids from Hollywood movies can learn something from that. Finally, ‘Rare Exports’ has a funny denouement in store. A cult-cracker in the making that mocks the sugary Christmas commercial and will also be appreciated after 25 December.