Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Don't be mislead by that word in the title. This is as far from Hollywood yuletide schmaltz as one could wish (and that's a *very* long way) Nor is this Santa Claus anything like the jovial old fellow dressed in red who is inescapable at this time of year (although if you find him rather creepy anyway, you'll raise a smile). The starting point is the Santa of legend, a scary creature given to throwing bad children into boiling cauldrons. In the mythic past the Sami people trapped him and buried him under what is now a mountain. Of course, in the present day someone is trying to dig him out. Bad idea. (Clearly they never saw The Thing). It's not quite a horror film - in fact it's a feature-length prequel to 2 short films. Black humour coexists alongside an ominous tone (the new rules and regulations issued to the workmen at the dig; the reindeer carcasses strewn across the snow; the "dolls" left in the place of children) Nor are the elves anything like the green-clad little helpers of our jolly old chap. A nice bit of wrong-footing leads everyone to believe that the elderly man caught in the wolf pit is actually the released Santa. He's certainly feral but honestly, did we *really* think he was capable of wreaking such havoc?
What lifts the film out of being merely a clever concept is the gruff bond between Rauno and his son Pietari. The setting might be beautiful but there's no mistaking it's a hard life, with little room for sentiment. The slaughter of the reindeer means ruin for the village ($85,000 lost we're repeatedly told) and the threadbare Christmas tree propped up in the corner of Rauno's house along with the ragged hole in his jumper tell you everything you need to know about the family's poverty. Likewise, the (presumably) deceased mother is evoked via the baking of gingerbread - and a less successful roast - and the toy that Pietari carries everywhere like a beloved pet. Yet despite his inability to verbally express his affection, it's there in Rauno's protective instincts.
I suppose the one disappointment is that we don't get to see what's actually been dug out of the mountain, though the horns that protrude through the block of ice are suitably impressive, and it does finally tell us why a hair dryer and all those radiators were stolen. All in all, wonderfully bonkers.