Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale Review

Having watched the original short film only two weeks before (see link below), Rare Exports was top of my list to see this Christmas. The plot follows a young boy as he and a group of Finnish hunters get embroiled with a large corporation that releases an evil Santa from his mountain prison.

It’s true madness from start to finish. This turns out to be the film’s greatest strength. Elves, magic, and Santa are dealt with absolute sincerity, and what could have been such a goofy movie keeps the illusion of the situation going. For a movie about Father Christmas, surely no bad thing.

The acting is great from the whole cast, but special praise should go to Onni Tommila as Pietari the young boy. His charming and engaging performance is crucial for the film to work, and keeps the slower parts from getting boring or odd.

Although some critics have said the ending is a little lacking, the final showdown with evil Santa provides a very satisfactory conclusion.  It brings together a lot of themes from throughout the piece, and although I don’t want to give anything away, keeps true to the characters being hunters.

This film does have a dark soul, and is very strange indeed. However, Rare Exports has created some wonderful scenes, and is in its own way, beautiful. You won’t leave the cinema scared, but roaring with laughter, and very much looking forward to Christmas.

8/10