Rare Exports

I just recently caught a screening of Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale and I was definitely not disappointed. My expectations were relatively high after having seen the two short films previously released in this series, and while this version did stray somewhat from the concepts shown in the short films, it did stay true to the overall feel of the previous incarnations.

Although this film was not particularly deep or thought provoking it was very fun to watch and highly enjoyable. Somewhat creepy in places, this was mainly played up for humorous effect and overall the film displayed a dark sense of humor quite different from any Christmas movie that I have ever seen.

I would highly recommend this film to fans of the original short films or anyone looking for something a little bit different around the holiday season!

I love Christmas. However, I also hate how television stations here in the US drive us crazy by playing the same old Christmas movies year after year after year--until you start to hate them. Movies like "It's a Wonderful Life" (which they used to air 37923573 times a year until recently) have been ruined because of this. So, in the spirit of being sick and tired of the same old re-runs, I might suggest if you feel the same way you try "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale". It sure is NOT "It's a Wonderful Life" and it's nothing like "Miracle on 34th Street"! It's actually sort of an anti-Christmas movie.

The film begins in the Finnish wilderness. Some Americans are excavating SOMETHING...but what, we aren't sure. Suddenly the scene changes to three men who are trying to figure out what attacked. Hundreds of caribou are dead and they are heavily armed just in case it attacks. Even one of the guy's little boy is armed with a shotgun. I guess life can be hard that close to the Arctic Circle. As the film progresses, the film becomes more and more and more tense, as apparently the thing or things that killed the animals also wiped out the folks excavating the frozen tundra...apparently someone or something is really, really mad! I would love to say more about this sick and rather inappropriate film, but I don't want to spoil the film. Suffice to say that 'Santa' is not their only worry--his crazed, naked helpers are. And you better pray you haven't been naughty!!

Overall, I liked this sick film as it is highly creative. It also had an amazing sense of suspense. Using exceptional direction and great background music, the film was tense beyond belief. However, the story is not perfect. The part where the kid suddenly knew EXACTLY what to do and the adults followed his lead was bad--and a film cliché I hate. Fortunately, what followed in the final scene after they listened to the kid was great--and the ending made me laugh. One final note: there is LOTS and LOTS of male nudity--very, very graphic nudity. I wasn't offended by it as it was not the least bit sexual in nature. And, since parents SHOULD not let their kids see this because of the subject matter, then kids seeing all this naked flesh really isn't a serious concern. Worth seeing...but it is one sick and twisted holiday film. I just hope I don't start seeing it 37923573 every year on the television...though I doubt it.

By the way, the idea for this full-length film originated from two short films by the same filmmaker. I saw the first one years ago and loved it--and fortunately both shorts are included on the disc as special features. Don't forget to watch them.

'Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)' is weird. Not weird in the quirky sense, just weird. It has a bizarre plot but it takes itself almost entirely seriously, it's increasingly outlandish but it it's never playful, it's dark and gritty but it's never tense or scary... it's difficult to describe, really. It isn't quite a comedy, despite being absurd; it isn't quite a horror, despite being grim. It sits in an odd sort of limbo between genres. Who is its intended audience? I'm not sure that even it knows. I can't see it being a cult classic because it isn't 'bad' enough, but I can't see being a critical darling because it isn't 'good' enough. It has a decent atmosphere and it's fairly compelling, but it doesn't seem to move past its initial stages and a huge chunk of its plot is portrayed as a montage just before its end credits. Like I said, it's weird. It's a fairly decent effort, though, and I don't think anyone can claim that it's generic. 6/10

I saw this the other day at the London Film Festival and went in with no expectations, not having seen the short films it was based on. It was a fantastic surprise and i would put it right up there, if not in number one position, as the best film festival films i have ever seen. The pace and storyline were top notch and although some of the characters were a bit weak in substance and originality it took nothing away from my enjoyment of the film. This is one i would highly recommend to any film fan except those under 13. Indeed it is one i would be proud to recommend as it has a dark and dry sense of humour and an original twist on the Christmas tale. I will buy the DVD and happily see it again; I rarely say those words these days.

Full review here: http://thewildbore.blogspot.com/2010/12/rare-exports- Christmas-tale.html Finland isn't known for it's film exports, so here truly is a 'Rare Export' but should we return it? It's not exactly in the spirit of Christmas is it? This film is rather a prequel to two short films that the director made in 2003 and 2005 (both I will stick at the end of this article) where Santa isn't the merry old fat man we've come to know and love but is rather a beast of the wild that is tamed and exported around the world. But deciding that some short films weren't enough, Jalmari Helander decides to make a feature film about his 'hunters' before the events of Rare Exports Inc. & Rare Exports: Official Safety Instructions. I have to put this film into context because when viewing the film, not knowing much about it, it seemed very strange afterwards but now it kind of makes sense. However, it might be worth watching without seeing the videos included here, but it's your choice. Either way, the story is about how some corporate diggers are excavating something from a mountain near a remote village in the snowy outdoors. But it is a young boy who works out what is buried beneath and is taking every precaution just in case, whether it's taping cardboard to your bum or carrying around a shotgun, he's not taking any chances. I read somewhere that this harks back to the kiddie films of the Eighties like The Goonies where the kids were always right and the adults were idiots, but this has much more of a horror element to it. In fact, it is very funny in different places for different reasons but always keeps a dark, sinister edge whether it's the weird wooden dolls, the crazy rich excavator or the creepy Santa they find, there's always a tinge of horror at all times. The film is very well directed and, like many have said (mainly because of the snow) reminds people of The Thing, but all the set-up's are there and around the whole thing is the myth of Santa Claus (or Claws in this case). It makes for a very exciting, disturbing experience that is set around a time where people are supposed to get together and for someone who doesn't really enjoy Christmas, like myself, it makes a welcome distraction to all the 'niceness' of the Christmas season. The acting is, for the most part, very impressive and the end sequences with hundreds of naked old men running across the mountains is both funny and breathtaking at the same time. The film finds a great balance between horror, terror, humour and remembering that it shouldn't take itself too seriously, the gag is that it's about Santa after all. I always found something creepy about a fat, old man going into children's houses at night and giving them presents, seeing if they've been 'naughty or nice' and this plays on people's insecurities especially at a time where paedophilia is all over the news these days. It also has a rather serious, dramatic edge with an obviously painful father/son relationship, a man who is frustrated with the world and a 'coming-of-age' element about sacrifice and becoming independent. It could also be seen as a war of male generations, the son against the father, and the father against his own father, which in this case is represented by Father Christmas, it would make sense seeing as there is no females in the whole film but rather a world of manly hunters where soppy things like Christmas have no place. Overall, the film is enjoyable and the last five minutes is rather strange but makes sense once you see the short films. It might have a few plot holes but has been well thought out, perfectly directed and for something that could have so easily been one big joke, remains an impressive piece of work that the director clearly cared about. I recommend that you forget the usual Christmas ho-ho-Hell's and delve into a dark place where being naughty or nice is a life or death decision.