Père Noël Origines

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.

I really enjoyed this movie, harkening back to 80s classics like Tremors or gremlins where a small-town community must deal with a large threat that terrorizes their way of life. While Christmas horror films have been done before, such as silent night deadly night or Black Christmas, this movie puts its own spin on the genre and helps capture a tone and comedy that is unique to this Finnish production.

'What if Father Christmas was evil?' That's the general premise of the film that drives the narrative and I appreciate that the film took itself seriously, it didn't divulge into making the entire premise a joke like an asylum film would, and it's better for it!

The acting was spot on especially from the child actor (Onni Tommila) and the dad (Jorma Tommila). Story and atmosphere are fantastic in the first two acts. The mystery that builds up is slow and gripping as you begin to thaw into its icy interior. The cinematography excels at showing the unique location of the Icey, harsh and ragged landscape of the Korvatunturi mountains in rural Finland, adding a great deal to the film's atmosphere.

However, It drags in the middle with a long time dedicated Inside a slaughterhouse, this part really kills it's pacing and stops the plot in its tracks. Then there's the third act... it's bad. If you look at other reviews online, the same complaints keep cropping up; Terrible CGI, plot convenience, and the comedy & atmosphere that made the first two acts so great disappear from the film.

I was still very positive on the film and would recommend especially if you're sick of the same old Christmas movies and want something new and unique this 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.

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!

'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