Rare Exports Inc. (2003) User Reviews

Funny and well made short

[Stibbert · 7/10 · 2 June 2006]

Meet a set of hunters. The best in their trade. As they learned from their fathers and their fathers before them, they track down and domesticate a very special prey.

This is a film with a nice twist. The story is good, but at times it is a bit slow. Well written with good narration, but not 100%. The build up is a bit too long I think, but then again the pay-off is good.

As for acting it's good. The narrator does a great job and the three leads and Father Christmas fits their roles perfectly and deliver a good performance.

The cinematography struck me as really nice. Very nice composed and well chosen shots. It's all very delicious to look at. Hat's off to Jean Noel Mustonen. Also I might mention the sets and costumes witch are really nice. They look good and create a really nice setting.

All in all a funny and well made short. I'd not give it a full 10, but it's a good 7, no doubt.

A brilliantly sick and surprising black comedy short gem

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 8 April 2010]

An elite trio of expert hunters venture into the woods to track and capture an especially rare and dangerous prey for the Christmas season. Said prey turns out to be a feral and savage species of portly old guy human beings who after they are caught are cleaned up and put through a brutal training process in order to be turned into Santa Clauses who are then shipped all over the world. Director/co-writer Jalmari Helander deftly crafts a wonderfully wicked black comedy pip that milks an extremely sick, yet fresh and original premise for maximum queasy belly laughs (the sight of a wild naked old man running through the chilly forest with darts sticking out of his body is both funny and disturbing at the same time). Tommi Korpela, Jorma Tommila, and Tazu Ovaska are completely convincing as the three ace hunters. Otso Tarkela is likewise believable as their crazed prey. Jean Noel Mustonen's sharp cinematography offers a wealth of striking images (the shots of the lush wilderness are particularly breathtaking). Kudos are also in order for the marvelously melodic and majestic music. Best of all, Jonathan Hutching's deep and commanding gravelly voiced narration rates as the yummy cherry on an already deliciously dark and demented cake. A terrifically twisted treat.

Brilliant

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 26 December 2014]

An elite trio of expert hunters venture into the woods to track and capture an especially rare and dangerous prey for the Christmas season.

Having seen the full-length "Rare Exports" first, the twist is not quite as much of a surprise as it could be for those completely unfamiliar with the brand. Maybe this took something away from it, maybe not... it was still very enjoyable.

The way the subject matter is approached differently, more like a nature program than a horror film, is just brilliant and gives a completely different (but not any better or worse) feel to the subject matter. Standing on its own, it certainly answers some perennial questions about Christmas!

Hilarious short

[peter-pakulski · 10/10 · 9 August 2005]

This movie has been doing the rounds on the internet for the last couple of years in quicktime format, many people not realising that it is a serious (or otherwise) short movie. With around a minute and a half of credits, the length proper of this is only 6 minutes.

This movie is about hunting, so keep the little ones out of view and earshot while watching it. It is an absolute masterpiece, so if you have broadband, do a search now and have a watch of it. If you decide to, then read no further, because:

SPOILER -- SPOILER -- SPOILER -- SPOILER -- SPOILER -- SPOILER

There is a lead-up and reveal about halfway through. The start shows preparations for a hunt, but the prey is unknown until the first shot is fired, and we see a sedative dart in... A FATHER Christmas! They are the most precious free-roaming beast in the whole of the Northern wilderness we are told, but they are very dangerous.

Get a copy now and see how a wild Father Christmas is tamed and prepared for export.

Short comment on a short film

[Shrikey · 10/10 · 2 October 2005]

While this is a very entertaining and humorous short film, it is also worth mentioning that it is a ad for Woodpecker Film showing their flair, know-how and expertise. This company has produced a lot of advertisements, some music videos and a like. Some of the ads are for Finnish military, drinks and food stuffs.

Watch some of them at Woodpeckerfilm.fi

The movie it self is a work of genius, using Finnish landscape and popular beliefs, so to speak, as the source for the mid-movie surprise. The narrator is very convincing with the low movie trailer type voice and makes for a funny emphasis.

Inventive Short with All Sorts of Fun

[Michael_Elliott · 10 February 2011]

Rare Exports, Inc. (2003)

*** (out of 4)

Short film that takes a look at a rare group of hunters in Finland who hunt one of the most deadly and rarest games in the world. The targets are elderly men who stalk the wild who the hunters eventually capture, train and release throughout the world as the creature known as Santa Claus. It seems this short was pretty much overlooked when it was originally released but it picked up steam and led to a semi-sequel as well as a feature-length film in 2010. There's no denying that this is an extremely well-made film and those who like their movies with a touch of surrealism will certainly want to check this out. What I loved most is how the movie really plays out like an introduction to a real comedy and I must admit that the narration was masterful in its serious tone and it really sets a wonderful mood for the picture. The scenes of the old man being hunted were extremely well edited and the scenes where they finally break him down were just so wrong yet at the same time so funny. Seeing Father Christmas hunted, beaten and eventually broken is something I'm sure many would be offended by but the film is just so well made that you can't help but laugh. I've always felt lines were meant to be cross and this one crosses it and makes up a few new ones along the way. The hype of the film has reached an all-time high and it lives up to it.

Highly disturbing but very well made

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 13 December 2008]

This short film has a very sick sense of humor and while I was a bit horrified but it, I also have to admit that it was very well made. However, I certainly DON'T recommend you allow younger viewers to see this film--for rather obvious reasons.

The film was made in Scandinavia and features the most amazingly appropriate narration in English--the voice and style was great as was the script. As the narrator talks, you see several hunters stalking their prey--though for a long time in the film you have no idea what it is. Later, when they finally open fire, you see they are shooting at a naked "feral" Santa using tranquilizer guns. Apparently, according to this film, the Santas you see at shopping malls are actually bagged in the wild and subjected to excruciating "conditioning" (i.e, torture) to make them jolly and child-friendly! The whole thing is one long sick joke. Many will find it funny but many will also be horrified at seeing the naked Father Christmas being shot at, slapped around and beaten. Sick...but just the sort of film for grinches who dislike the holidays.

By the way, this short was followed by yet another short and, finally, a full-length film called "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale". All three films can be seen on the disc for the full-length movie.

Taming the beast

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 4 October 2013]

There's probably a hundred (short) films out there that get you in the spirit for the holidays, but really funny ones are a rarity. This one is definitely a decent Christmas comedy. It runs for slightly over 7 minutes, which is fine, but also pretty much the limit as the hunting scenes, which went on for a large part of the film really shouldn't have been longer, although the tension and curiosity about what they were hunting for was rising more and more. The over-the-top serious narrator did a pretty good job though and you could feel the funny tone from the way he spoke highly of the prey and praised it as "king of the forest" on one occasion for example.

From the moment on where the bearded hunters caught it, it's absolutely hilarious. Interesting idea, convincing execution and definitely worth a watch during the holidays for being a somewhat different Christmas movie. Also there's a follow-up short film and even a feature film about the issue, which may very well be worth watching, but I haven't seen these, so can't say for sure. In any case it's good to see Jalmari Helander, the director gets the chance and will work with Samuel L. Jackson, Jim Broadbent and others on a project of international prestige.

Careful Watching This On Youtube

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 31 July 2010]

RARE EXPORTS INC is a short and amusing film from Finland written and directed by Jalman Helander . It involves a group of hunters and trackers stealthily creeping through the winter landscape of Finland looking for their prey . Try and imagine a Discovery Channel documentary featuring hunters and you'll be very surprised as to what the hunters find

Unfortunately since the whole revolves around the pay off as to who/what the prey is I was rather disappointed that the site I watched RARE EXPORTS INC showed a still of the hunters quarry but this is not the fault of Helander of course , but I feel I should warn everyone if they're going to watch it on youtube the cat is well and truly let out of the bag before the film even loads . That said I still managed to laugh out loud when the hunters were cruel to their captured prize

Funny little mock-corporate promo, with an edge of satire (SPOILERS)

[bob the moo · 7 March 2015]

The company Rare Exports Inc. provide a valuable service to the world; with small teams made up of the finest hunters in the world, the company captures, trains, and ships a most deadly prey to countries across the world.

Unfortunately I knew the joke in this short film before watching it, so I did not get the benefit of the surprise along the way – which is why this is tagged as containing a spoiler, even though some here seem to think that such a key thing is not worthy of such warming. Anyway, the short film plays like a piece of corporate promotional material, with an earnest voice-over telling us about the craft and risks taken by the hunting team, and the work they do. The twist comes when we see the prey is a wild Father Christmas – one of many being hunted, captured and then prepared to be shipped around the world as originals in time for the Christmas market. As an idea it is a clever one and amused me just by its silliness and yet how sincerely it is presented.

The idea of domesticating a wild animal for the sake of a commercial holiday is also one that is slightly barbed, and the slightly serious tone of the mock-advert does also help keep the viewer in this mindset – so although it is funny, it is not overly played for laughs, instead it does give you space to think about the idea that we actually do heavily commercialize nature – albeit not quite in the same way, but for sure there is an element of satire in here that it is not a huge leap to know that we would do this if it were real.

The dry and serious approach is very well done, and it fits the tone and style of corporate pieces well – not sure if Helander has his background in these, but he has a good eye for them anyway. Best viewed with the surprise as a novelty, it is an amusing and quite funny little short, which also works as a satire on the nature of commercialization, and of the commercialization of nature.