Writer(s): Helander, based on an original idea by Helander and Juuso Helander.
Starring: Jorma Tommila, Peeter Jakobi, Onni Tommila, and Tommi Korpela
The blending of horror and Christmas really isn’t anything
new: from Bob Clark’s Black Christmas all the way back in 1974, up through the
Silent Night, Deadly Night slasher series in the ‘80s, there have always been
movies that have treated the holiday as just another day to kill unsuspecting
college students. Much in the way
chocolate-covered pretzels work by blending salty and sweet, so to does the
horror/Christmas connection—why not take the happiest day of the year (for
many) and turn it into something horrifying?
Enter Rare Exports, a Norwegian film that not only aims to
prove that Santa exists, but that, rather than rewarding the good, he and his
elves instead spend Christmas Day punishing the naughty ones. It’s a bizarre idea, to be sure, but it’s
handled with enough tongue-in-cheek moments that it’s obvious the filmmakers
aren’t taking much of this seriously, either.
Pietari is a young boy who lives in the mountains of Finland along
with his father Rauno. There, they eke
out a tight lifestyle, with Rauno making his money by slaughtering and selling
animals. Then Americans show up, with
the intention of digging deep into the mountain, hoping to strike it rich off
any riches that the mountain holds. When
a hole in a fence leads to dozens of dead reindeer, the Finnish townsfolk
immediately suspect the Americans were behind the vandalism, which allowed
wolves to enter into the reindeer pen to finish them. They head up to confront them, only to find
that no one is there, and that they “must have left in a hurry”.
To protect their own home, Rauno sets up a wolf trap. Pietari notices that the bait is gone, and
the trap has been activated. But what
Rauno sees is not a wolf at all, but a fragile, old naked man. After a little while, they come to realize
that it’s Santa Claus, and Rauno’s eyes light up with dollar signs. But Santa has different ideas, and soon his
elves close in, and they will stop at nothing to free their master.
The film’s biggest transgression is that it never really
“takes off”; it always hints at things grander than what it is willing to
achieve. There were several moments
during Rare Exports that I started to get noticeably excited in anticipation of
a scene’s climax, but it was never as thrilling as we were lead to
believe. Don’t misunderstand me, there
are plenty of good ideas here as is, but many of them are never given enough
time in the spotlight to bloom into anything special. The lack of suspense is also a killer—every
single plan Pietari concocts (another annoying trait: a kid character calling
the shots in a decidedly non-children’s movie) seems to work without a single
hitch. It all just feels too neat and
tidy, without ever really putting the character’s in any kind of immediate
harm.
I also wasn’t a fan at all of the ending; it’s supposed to
be “happy”, because it gives the main characters everything they’ve been
looking for, yet it honestly felt kind of cruel to me. I can’t really reveal anything about it
without giving it all away, but I was expecting a detour toward more of a
poignant ending, which is hinted at for a few moments, before evaporating. Having such a finish wouldn’t be a stretch,
either, as director Jalmari Helander allows several moments of genuine emotion
to seep in, though like everything else, they are never given any time to truly
resonate.
To be fair, there are plenty of clever scenes at play here,
even disregarding the obvious change of Santa Claus from lovable bringer of
presents to punisher of naughty children.
For example, one of the villagers complains that someone has entered
into his barn and messed with his potatoes—as it turns out, whoever it was left
all the potatoes, but was merely interested in stealing dozens of burlap
sacks. We soon find out what they’re
being used for (though it doesn’t take much to guess), and despite the general
obviousness of it, it’s still pretty genius.
Santa Claus is also surprisingly, genuinely terrifying—the evil looks
that he gives Rauno and the local villagers plotting what to do with him are
eerily excellent.
Now that I think about it, the movie this really reminds me
of is Trollhunter; both films feature people searching for mythical creatures,
and both are very similar in tone. But
comparing them side by side reveals just how unsatisfactory Rare Exports is as
a feature length film; Trollhunter
(which did admittedly have a slightly higher budget) isn’t afraid to take
chances, and to even let some surprising emotions into the mix, nor did it shy
away from awe-inspiring effects that honestly took me back to when I was a kid
watching Jurassic Park for the first time in a theater. Rare Exports, while never taking itself
seriously, also rarely manages to be that much fun.
There are some hailing this as a new Christmas tradition, in
the same vein as A Christmas Story and National Lampoon’s Christmas
Vacation. As for me, watching this once per lifetime was plenty enough.
RECAP: It hints at great things that it never even attempts
to achieve; Rare Exports is a film with great potential that squanders it at
almost every turn. There aren’t many
laughs, and the ending just feels downright cruel, a direct contradiction to
the almost lighthearted hijinx throughout.
Effects and acting are good, and it certainly held my attention, but it
ends up feeling like one anti-climactic letdown after another. For a movie with
a similar tone done right, I’d recommend Trollhunter.
RATING: 5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment