Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)
82%RT Audience Score: 70%
Awards & Nominations: 12 wins & 2 nominations
Rare Exports is an unexpectedly delightful crossbreed of deadpan comedy and Christmas horror
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is the perfect movie for those who want to add a little bit of spookiness to their holiday season. It’s like if Tim Burton directed a Christmas movie, but with a Finnish twist. The film takes a dark and twisted approach to the Santa Claus mythos, and it’s refreshing to see something so different from the usual holiday fare. Plus, the young actors in the film are fantastic and add a lot of heart to the story. Just be warned, you may never look at Santa the same way again after watching this movie.
Production Company(ies)
Daiei
Distributor
Oscilloscope Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Tromsø, Norway
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some nudity and language
Year of Release
2010
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 24m
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Language(s):Finnish, English
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Country of origin:Finland, France, Norway, Sweden
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 3, 2010 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 25, 2011
Genre(s)
Holiday/Comedy
Keyword(s)
Rare Exports, Christmas, Horror, Comedy, Adventure, Finnish, Jalmari Helander, Petri Jokiranta, Knut Skoglund, Jorma Tommila, Onni Tommila, Ilmari Järvenpää, Peeter Jakobi, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, reviewed by Jim Schembri, Eric Kohn, Christine Champ, Wendy Ide, Michael O’Sullivan, Chris Chang, Emily Mackay, Allen Almachar, Naila Scargill, Abbie Bernstein, Sarah Cartland, Gail Spencer, produced by Petri Jokiranta, Knut Skoglund, written by Jalmari Helander, R-rated, $263.2K box office, Dolby Digital sound mix
Worldwide gross: $4,087,363
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $5,556,306
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,141
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 605,922
US/Canada gross: $236,347
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $321,287
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,438
US/Canada opening weekend: $9,281
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $12,616
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,656
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 1948000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,648,085
Production budget ranking: 1,994
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,425,994
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,482,227
ROI to date (est.): 36%
ROI ranking: 1,211
Jorma Tommila – Rauno
Ilmari Järvenpää – Juuso
Peeter Jakobi – Santa
Tommi Korpela – Aimo
Rauno Juvonen – Piiparinen
Director(s)
Jalmari Helander
Writer(s)
Jalmari Helander
Producer(s)
Petri Jokiranta, Knut Skoglund
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
12 wins & 2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (106) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (95) | Rotten (11)
[A] deliciously loopy oddball of a film.
December 14, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
The flaws of Rare Export offer an important reminder that looking good on YouTube does not provide qualifications for a bigger screen.
December 14, 2014
Eric Kohn
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
Rare Exports also twists the season’s staples with a morbidly merry, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.
December 14, 2014 | Rating: A-
Christine Champ
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
The barmy Finnish film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale taps into the creepy subtext of an elderly man who breaks into children’s homes.
December 14, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
For anyone who can look a little askance at the monster that contemporary Christmas has become, this artfully made Finnish tale is — I kid you not — a real treat.
December 9, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
By the end, Helandar’s movie feels more like an elaborate punchline to an overwrought joke, a thematic gibe more appropriate for a short film.
November 7, 2013
Chris Chang
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
From a slow and suspenseful start held by the charming Onni Tomilla as Pietari and Jomra Tomilla as his wiry, weathered and taciturn widower father, the brutal thrills ramp up deliciously.
May 25, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Emily Mackay
NME
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale may go down as one of the classic holiday movies for people that don’t really like classic holiday movies.
August 12, 2020 | Rating: A-
Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin
Not quite as funny as you’d expect if you have seen the shorts, the film largely plays it straight.
February 28, 2019
Naila Scargill
Exquisite Terror
If you and/or the young folks in your life like spooky folklore, snowy menace and brave young heroes, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale fills the bill.
February 16, 2019 | Rating: B
Abbie Bernstein
Assignment X
An unnerving, funny and inventive Santa origins story set on the border between Finland and Russia, it reminds us that most fairy stories are truly dark. No one seems surprised when the border between myth and modernity breaks down too.
November 24, 2018 | Rating: 4.5/5
Sarah Cartland
Caution Spoilers
[There is] very obvious, and somewhat jarring use of some very underwhelming CGI effects in a number of key scenes. However, the tremendous performances and the film’s unique tone more than make up for this technical misjudgement.
November 6, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Gail Spencer
CineVue…
Plot
On Christmas Eve in Finland, Santa Claus is unearthed in an archaeological dig. Soon after, children start disappearing, leading a boy and his father to capture Santa and, with the help of fellow hunters, they look to sell him back to the corporation that sponsored the dig. And then there’s Santa’s elves, who are determined to free their leader…
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Onni Tommila, who plays the young boy Pietari.
Jalmari-Helander.jpg
