Le renne blanc

I recently got a chance to see this on the big screen and it is definitely a special film. Filmed in Lapland, nearly everyone moves about in this film on skis or reindeer-drawn toboggan. The lonely snow-covered landscapes lightly dotted with trees, humans, and curving herds of reindeer look beautiful in black and white. The film capitalizes on the mythic and mystic nature of the landscape and the land--The Land of the Midnight Sun. What a perfect setting for a film about love, loneliness, fears of abandonment, and, of course, vampires. The horror is a subtle one and even now barely verges on the campy (thanks to the uniqueness of its setting). The strange shots of the sun hovering on the horizon and of reindeer stampeding across the snow only enhance this bizarre tale. The main actress is quite stunning and plays the balance of her role well. A definite treat for fans of foreign or horror films.

The White Reindeer opens with a folk song from Lapland, about a child who is born a witch, that is fated to offer a white reindeer to a stone God.

Fast forward a number of years later, and we find ourselves watching a beautiful and talented young woman fall in love with a popular reindeer herder.

He pursues her hand in marriage and the two are wed.

But he's not really the promiscuous type, and leaves for long spats on reindeer herding expeditions...while she lies in wait at home alone.

With another expedition coming up, he plans to give her with a gift, to show he loves her.

This gift is an albino reindeer, to keep as a pet.

But she gets lonely on these long nights alone...

So, one day, she sets off on an excursion of her own...to the hermit shack of a local shaman that practices witchcraft.

Bearing offerings of bread, cheese, meat and booze...she seeks to acquire a love potion, that will make her beloved as infatuated with her, as he was when he was when first wooing her.

But for this to take effect, she must sacrifice the first "living thing" she encounters on her way home.

Before he even finishes the ritual, the shaman realizes that she is actually the powerful witch that has been foretold of in their great myths.

Whether she realizes this herself or not is unclear, but, upon her return home, she is immediately struck with worry...as the first living things she sees are her husband- who has unexpectedly returned home- and her pet reindeer, who she has cared for since it was weened.

But which did she notice first?

To ensure the curse will be effective, she travels to the monument of the stone God, as she was told to, with her beloved pet- a token of his love for her- to sacrifice it.

But is killing a spirit animal like this a bad omen of it's own?

Impatient to find out if it has worked or not, she travels to the fells in search of her husband.

But he is off tracking a wolverine...when she realizes that the pact she has entered into might have been a ruse by the devil.

For, what is the one thing (other than a beautiful woman) that reindeer herders simply cannot resist, but a wild, white reindeer?

Upon this realization, she immediately transforms into a white reindeer, herself, under the light of a full moon.

And finds herself being pursued by another hunter, entirely.

When he manages to catch her, she instantly turns back into a woman...and he can't resist his urges.

So she mutilates him.

Before turning back into the reindeer again.

Now, each time there is a full moon, she turns into the white reindeer, and is pursued until she kills a man.

When the hunters realize that it must be the white witch reindeer from their tales, each time they find a dead man in Evil Valley- as the only tracks leading to the body are those of a reindeer (while the wounds are not compatible with anything a reindeer could possibly inflict)- they plan to kill it, in order to prevent any future murders from occurring.

And speak of the devil...

Upon her appearance, in front of the group of hunters currently discussing her demise, a cocky young hunter tries, unsuccessfully, to shoot her (though, you cannot kill her with bullets, rather, only an iron stake).

This causes her to reveal her true form, which he lives to tell the tale about...though, just barely.

Eventually, he recognizes her back at the camp, and she starts to become increasingly paranoid...believing that she's now turning into a wolf.

Luckily for her, they think he has gone mad, after his ordeal in the fells.

Now, all she can do is watch, as the whole town forges iron spears for the witch hunt...including her own husband.

So, she returns to the shack of the shaman to see if there is any hope for the curse to be lifted.

But it's too late.

The death of a white reindeer got her into this mess, now only the death of a white reindeer can get her out.

The film goes in a perfect circle, as it is her husband who ends up chasing her in the form of the white reindeer, as he did in the opening sleigh chase sequence, when the two fell in love.

The irony here is, that the curse was entirely unnecessary (and didn't even seem to work on who it was meant to affect), because he had always loved her from the beginning.

Making for a tragic love story, and a hauntingly beautiful film.

From the majestic herds, to the canoes pulled by lone reindeer, and the snow laden scenery...everything about Lapland culture is alluring.

And let's be honest...they have the best effing hats.

9 out of 10.

I really like this one, i think it's one of the best old Finnish movies. The landscapes and photography are beautiful, which is not very surprising for film shooted in Lapland, and the movie itself is interesting in terms of plot and style. The story is based into old folk-story, so it is quite different and unique plot for horror movie. The cast, especially Mirjami Kuosmanen and Åke Lindman, made good job in this one.

As people have many times said, this movie is not very scary, but how many old horror flicks are? I don't recall being very scared in any movie made 1950's or earlier. This movie is still very interesting and unique. It's a great part of the history of Finnish cinema. I recommend this for all fans of old black and white movies.

Be careful what you wish for is the moral of this captivating 1952 fantasy horror (a rare genre movie from Finland), and perhaps the world's only example of Sami gothic cinema. A newly-married young woman, Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen), desperate for affection, visits a shaman who offers a potion that makes her an irresistible object of desire, but there is a terrible cost. Pirita becomes a bloodthirsty shapeshifter who lures men out into the barren wilderness where she kills them. It was the directorial debut of Finnish cinematographer Erik Blomberg, and was filmed amongst the starkly beautiful fells of Finnish Lapland. Blomberg combines an almost documentary filming style with avant-garde experimentation to produce a dreamy art-house horror film without compare, and it remains one of world cinema's criminally under-seen masterpieces. The film was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Jean Cocteau-led jury special award for Best Fairy Tale Film. After its limited release five years later in the United States, it was one of five films to win the 1956 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

This film is quite unique in Finnish movie history. And it also has been filmed during a period when old Lapland and some real Lapp culture could be found from Northern Finland. Not that everything is authentic, but anyway this film combines nostalgia with fantasy and even horror and treats the Lapp culture with at least some respect. And landscapes are definitely worth seeing! Hmmm... the only film I know where a human being gets transferred into reindeer! One should be careful where to look at!