Optiluiz here once more for our (Not So) weekly movie review. So, what movie would be better to review this holiday season than the Finnish horror/comedy/fantasy/yuletide film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, directed by Jalmari Helander. It chronicles the adventures of a boy and his father, having discovered what may be the real life Santa Claus, and he isn't as nice as we think.
Christmas movies come in all shapes and sizes, but this is a very peculiar one. An evil Santa Clause may not be unheard of, but what really makes this movie good, with lots of original fun is the tone; at times horror, at times a family film. In theory, this would make it very inconsistent, but somehow, it works, making it a unique story told in a unique way.
Child actors can easily ruin films, but every now and then, there is one that has a real vocation for acting, and actually makes the film better. Such is the case with Onni Tommila, playing a lonely, but brave child caught in the middle of things. The acting in general in this film is fine, but Onni really stands out. However, it must be noted that I don't speak Finnish so I can't judge the acting as accurately as something in english or portuguese.
In any case, no film is perfect. The script gets pretty hammy at times, especially towards the end. Something about it just doesn't click with the rest of the movie, and not just tone-wise. However, it's easy to overlook these details because, at heart, it's a fun little family film which might give your naughty kids some well-deserved nightmares on Christmas Eve. It's a queer little movie, but a nice one at that. Overall, I give it an 8/10. It could have been better, but then again, most movies could.
That concludes today's Christmas movie review.
Chainsaw cheers,
-Optiluiz out...
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