Rare Exports rekalled...

Rare Exports, a Finnish import film, is an ambitious film about a boy coming to grips with the true nature of Santa Claus of Finnish legend. The film builds up tension with the design of a horror film that ends very differently. With a clever misdirection the film changes in tone about two-thirds of the way which comes as a bit of a disappointment. The film almost had a Thing vibe, an excellent film set in the arctic but the comparisons end with the snow. Overall the film had drawn me into the style and mythos they were establishing, I respected the small twist and then the final tonal shift left me disappointed. Rare Exports ended as a children's triumph film, much like my childhood this film was a bit of a disappointment. This was another instance of a much ballyhooed foreign film that I believe get's more respect than it deserves.