Chicago – “What you are about to see now may traumatize you for life.” So reads a warning near the beginning of Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander’s 2005 short, “Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions.” The film was a clever follow-up to his 2003 effort, “Rare Exports Inc.”, which seemed to milk its one-joke premise for all it was worth.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
The “exports” of Helander’s films are in the form of bloodthirsty Father Christmases hunted and tamed by reindeer herders near Korvatunturi mountain, which the film bills as the “land of the original Santa Claus.” Who are these gray-haired, unclothed, rawly animalistic creatures? Why are they filled with such fearsome rage when a nearby mortal mildly misbehaves? In the side-splitting yet genuinely eerie “Safety Instructions,” these alleged “Father Christmases” seemed to be little more than elderly zombies.
Read Matt Fagerholm’s full review of “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” in our reviews section.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
The “exports” of Helander’s films are in the form of bloodthirsty Father Christmases hunted and tamed by reindeer herders near Korvatunturi mountain, which the film bills as the “land of the original Santa Claus.” Who are these gray-haired, unclothed, rawly animalistic creatures? Why are they filled with such fearsome rage when a nearby mortal mildly misbehaves? In the side-splitting yet genuinely eerie “Safety Instructions,” these alleged “Father Christmases” seemed to be little more than elderly zombies.
Read Matt Fagerholm’s full review of “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” in our reviews section.
- 12/24/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Every year there seems to be an abundance of Christmas or holiday themed movies, but for some reason this year Hollywood has decided not to put any out (outside of The Nutcracker 3D). Thankfully, Finland has decided to bring us one of the best Christmas movies in years. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale was directed by Finish commercial director, Jalmari Helander. It tells the story of a man named Reily (Per Christian Ellefsen) who has begun an expedition in the Korvatunturi Mountains. The Korvatunturi Mountains are known in the Nordic countries as the place where Santa comes from.As the digging takes place, two boys, Pietari (Onni Tommila) and Jusso (Ilmari Järvenpää) witness watch. Pietari wants to believe that Reily and his are digging for Santa. Jusso tries to convince Pietari that Santa doesn’t exist, but Pietari wants to believe. He goes home and decides to research into...
- 12/24/2010
- by Brad Reiter
- Killer Films
Earlier this week I had a flashback to my childhood Christmases -- the sound of springs creaking on an unseen attic door as it opened evoked a sense of excitement and anxiety. As a child, I imagined it was Santa Claus coming down from the attic because we did not have a real fireplace. As I grew older I realized that my parents hid our presents up there. It was a bit unnerving and overwhelming to think that Santa knew if whether I was bad or good, and could enter our house at will.
In the movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, opening at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar tomorrow just in time for the holidays, Finnish writer and director Jalmari Helander reminds us of the not-so-jovial myths behind the mystic icon of Father Christmas. Helander first introduced his take on the origin and life history of Santa Claus...
In the movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, opening at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar tomorrow just in time for the holidays, Finnish writer and director Jalmari Helander reminds us of the not-so-jovial myths behind the mystic icon of Father Christmas. Helander first introduced his take on the origin and life history of Santa Claus...
- 12/9/2010
- by Debbie Cerda
- Slackerwood
Last night, Apple went a little trailer crazy and as well as posting the new trailer for Sanctum, they gave us one for Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. The movie is directed by Jalmari Helander and stars Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Per Christian Ellefsen, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, Ilmari Järvenpää and Peeter Jakobi.
Synopsis: It’s the eve of Christmas in northern Finland and an “archeological” dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But this particular Santa isn’t the one you want coming to town. When all the local children begin mysteriously disappearing, young Pietari and his father Rauno, a reindeer hunter by trade, capture the mythological being and attempt to sell Santa to the misguided leader of the multinational corporation sponsoring the dig. Santa’s elves, however, will stop at nothing to free their fearless leader from captivity. What ensues is a wildly humorous nightmare – a...
Synopsis: It’s the eve of Christmas in northern Finland and an “archeological” dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But this particular Santa isn’t the one you want coming to town. When all the local children begin mysteriously disappearing, young Pietari and his father Rauno, a reindeer hunter by trade, capture the mythological being and attempt to sell Santa to the misguided leader of the multinational corporation sponsoring the dig. Santa’s elves, however, will stop at nothing to free their fearless leader from captivity. What ensues is a wildly humorous nightmare – a...
- 10/28/2010
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Rare Exports Concept PosterRare Exports: A Christmas Tale is a film from Finland, which puts a dark note on the most notable of Christian holidays. Santa is kidnapped and the locals will need to find a way to free him from an overzealous developer. This picture shows at this year's Toronto International Film Festival beginning September 14th and there are more details inside including a teaser trailer.
The film's tagline:
"This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus" (Rare).
The synopsis for Rare Exports here:
"In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 metres deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up!" (Rare).
Release Date: September 14th (Limited Run).
Director/writer: Jalmari Helander.
Cast: Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Per Christian Ellefsen, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, Ilmari Järvenpää, Peeter Jakobi, Jonathan Hutchings, Risto Salmi
One of two teaser trailers available for the film:...
The film's tagline:
"This Christmas everyone will believe in Santa Claus" (Rare).
The synopsis for Rare Exports here:
"In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 metres deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas. The time has come to dig it up!" (Rare).
Release Date: September 14th (Limited Run).
Director/writer: Jalmari Helander.
Cast: Onni Tommila, Jorma Tommila, Per Christian Ellefsen, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, Ilmari Järvenpää, Peeter Jakobi, Jonathan Hutchings, Risto Salmi
One of two teaser trailers available for the film:...
- 8/31/2010
- by 28DaysLaterAnalysis@gmail.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
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