For me “Rare Exports” is hands down the most sequential piece of modern fairytale films of the Christmas Season. From the moment the story opens on the vast mountainous wilderness that seemed almost Iclandically frozen I felt the chills of this dark tale beckon me. The film is set in Norway the homeland of the Santa Legend that is at the root of all our post consumer modern marketeering holiday mania.
The legend falls on the macabre notion and somewhat close to fact myth the Santa baby wasn’t some jolly man eager to hand out gifts and goodies for children's year long niceties. This Santa was not a mall kinda guy at all. Quiet frankly he is almost missing from this picture, but that is the point of this film. This legend has teeth and bites down and holds tight with almost no room for question. What we thought was jolly old Saint Nick is in fact a spellbound mindless elven creature out to do Santa’s bidding.
One boy is well aware of the holes in the “Coca-cola” Santa myth. From the moment you meet the young Pietari Kontio you feel his distrust and un ease in the holiday. It stems from the fact that strange men are digging at the base of the oldest mountain in the areas history for what he has learned is the tomb of a much more evil and monstrous Santa.
This film is intense with emotion and dialogue which is good when learning of life and cultural perspectives of others. I don’t mind subtitles at all. They make me feel some how more cultured my self. I went into this film thinking monster gore was gonna be the attraction de jure but was pleasantly surprised. The movie was able to hold me in and feel the characters discomfort with their situation without a lot of blood and gore. A lot of movies cannot do that.
The legend of Korvatunturi mountains. This legend is deep and dark and should have festivals and celebrations in honor of it. I have decided to incorporate this belief of the true Santa of millennia past into my love and passion of Christmas. It stands next to Krumpas for me. Krumpas was supposedly Santa’s dark passenger through the naughty and nice journey of Holidays past. He was aloud to snatch the children that were naught and feast upon them on Christmas morning when the journey was finished and the holiday done. I believe he held some inspiration in this tale of Santa. The frozen chimeric creature that was horned and had been trapped and buried for centuries. Until the strange people came and began their dig.
The only downside to this film was the simple fact that there was no real body count and I felt it would have been nicer to see this vision of Santa break free from the ice before the saviours of the film triumphed. However with all that sad it is truly a great Christmas tale to meld into an already existing and constantly growing dark and gory Christmas tradition. For me this is a new holiday classic. I just wouldn’t call this film a horror story. It is more of a Dark Fairytale.
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