Il bianco pastore di renne

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!

The Finnish film 'White Reindeer' is marketed in the USA and Britain as a horror movie, but that's not precisely accurate. This is a stark, moody film but not a scary one. It purports to be an authentic Lapp folktale about a woman named Pirita who turns into a white reindeer in order to feed upon men.

This story has elements of both the vampire and the werewolf legend, as well as the succubus. Apart from reindeer being native to Lapland, I can't imagine why the reindeer was chosen as the species for this folktale's version of the shape-changer legend. Bats and wolves are predators, and therefore scary. The reindeer is a domesticated herbivore that serves humans ... not very spooky, is it? In one sequence, the were-reindeer woman sprouts fangs. Actual reindeer don't have fangs, so why should these be part of her transformation? Female reindeer have antlers, so why doesn't Pirita sprout antlers?

Speaking of superstitions and myths: early in this film, a black cat scurries across the path of an approaching sledge, but the director gives this so little emphasis that it appears to have no significance. In Cornwall, it's considered *good* luck to have a black cat cross one's path, and this same thing is considered *bad* luck in America. Do Lapps have any superstitions concerning black cats?

Mirjami Kuosmanen, the actress who plays the central role in this film, is quite pretty ... but her performance as a native of northern Lapland is weakened by the fact that she is clearly wearing makeup. Due to the low production budget, we never actually see Pirita changing into the reindeer ... but the director cleverly gets round this by having his leading lady lunge towards the camera, then cutting to a shot of a reindeer in the same position. Still, I was hoping we would see a shot of a woman's shadow changing shape ... or a series of human footprints in the snow abruptly becoming hoof-marks.

The Lapp landscape in this movie is starkly beautiful and awesome but never frightening. The photography is excellent. There are two impressive dissolve shots involving flames, and a splendid montage sequence. I was extremely impressed by a night sequence over a bonfire. During the Midnight Sun sequences, there are two shots featuring a weird colonnade of white pillars: these appear to be artefacts of the Lapp culture, but we never learn what they are. A sequence in which a carved vertrebra dances magically across a shaman's drum has an eerie pagan power that made me think of Nijinsky's staging of 'The Rites of Spring'.

My one complaint about this film -- a minor grievance -- is that we never learn the time period in which the main action occurs. These Laplanders possess milled coins, a rifle, and loomed curtains. One sequence takes place at a prayer service that is clearly Christian, featuring a minister in Geneva bands. Are we watching scenes in the twentieth century, or some earlier time? I'll rate this moody, compelling (but not frightening) film 8 out of 10. Oh, my deer! I Lapped this up!

I recently watched the Finnish film 🇫🇮 The White Reindeer (1952) on Shudder. The storyline follows a woman living in an isolated village on the snowy plains of Finland who, after a mystical encounter involving a reindeer, is cursed with a vampiric affliction and begins a haunting killing spree.

The film is directed by Erik Blomberg (Kihlaus) and stars Mirjami Kuosmanen (Puck), Åke Lindman (The Unknown Soldier), and Aarne Tarkas (The Wild North).

I really enjoyed this movie for what it was-and what the filmmakers were able to accomplish with the resources they had. At its core, it's a folkloric tale, and the snow-covered landscape and mountainous backdrop give it an eerie, mysterious atmosphere. The film does a great job portraying the way of life and attitudes toward nature in this remote community, setting up the story's strange events with authenticity and depth.

The acting, costumes, and settings all feel impressively genuine, drawing you into the film's unique world. The cultural depiction was compelling, and there's even a wild reindeer-wrestling scene that was a standout.

The story itself is a refreshingly unique take on the vampire mythos-unlike anything I've seen before. I especially loved the dramatic, haunting score. While the horror elements are mostly conveyed through cutaways, they work well against the stark black-and-white visuals. The ending isn't quite as dramatic as the build-up, but it still lands well.

In conclusion, The White Reindeer is a well-crafted Finnish folk-horror film that tells its story effectively within the context of its era. I'd give it a 6-6.5/10 and recommend it-with the right expectations-for fans of atmospheric, culturally rooted horror.

Mirjami Kuosmanen (Pirita) is a witch who marries reindeer-herder Kalervo Nissila (Aslak) in a Sami community in Lapland. Nissila is often absent and Kuosmanen gets lonely. After visiting a shaman, she goes through a ritual that will make her more attractive to her husband as well as to every other herdsman. However, she is already a witch and the combination of these events allows her to shapeshift into a white reindeer every night, where she lures men to follow her. Not a good move for any herdsmen who take up the chase....

This film has an interesting setting in the bleak snow forest in Finland amongst an indigenous community. We get a cool genre of film following the story of a vampire shapeshifting witch who wants love but is also deadly. Kuosmanen is good in the lead role and has the perfect look for the witch, especially when she is being evil.

If you come across a white reindeer, do not follow it!

In fact, there are loads of bad white things. If you come across white chocolate, do not eat it as it contains zero chocolate. The Ku Klux Clan dressed in white and Essex girls wear white stilletos.

This is a legend of magic made into a film by sustained cínematographic magic. The photo is stunning all through the film, and the actors, although saving their dialogue as much as possible, are all convincing and genuinely Lapponic. This must be the best film ever made about the Lapps for its outstanding genuineness - there is no other film like it. Einar Englund has composed a sustained score that keeps underscoring the film perpetually all the way, which only adds to the magic and spiritual impression of the sinister winter nature of Lapland, where the film was made. The legend tells the story of a beautiful young woman who apparently was born a witch, which she only becomes aware of herself when her husband goes away on business and she feels lonely and consults a drinking warlock in search of a relief from her loneliness. He discovers with terror that she is a born witch and unintentionally releases her powers, which consists of her being transformed into a white reindeer occasionally, in which capacity she can tempt any Lapp to hunt her, whom she devours when he captures the reindeer, in which moment she triumphs as herself and the witch he is. Things get complicated when her own husband finally hunts her down.

It's a unique film of irresistible beauty, charm and magic, and no other film can actually be compared with it. It's a timeless film to return to with relish occasionally when you need something out of the ordinary.