Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Location Info

Map

SIFF Cinema Uptown

511 Queen Anne Ave. N.
Seattle, WA 98109

Category: Theaters

Region: Queen Anne

Photos

0 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare	0

Related Content

• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale: From Finland, the Dark Side of Santa
  December 8, 2010
• How to Make a Fast-Food Christmas Dinner
  December 21, 2011
• Scheduling a Chinese Meal for Christmas
  December 19, 2011
• Christmas Music Even a Grinch Can Love: The Best Local Holiday Music
  December 14, 2011
• The Weekly Wire: This Week's Recommended Events
  December 21, 2011

More About

• Santa Claus
• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
• Jalmari Helander
• Mark Olsen
• Holiday Season

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Based on his own series of popular-on-the-Internet short films, Finnish writer-director Jalmari Helander's 2010 Rare Exports creates something of a new origin story for Santa Claus—or, rather, re-introduces with dark glee some of the original pagan myths that have long been glossed over by the market forces behind what a character sneeringly calls the "The Coca-Cola Santa." When a mysterious businessman looks to unearth the original Claus, buried underneath a remote mountain, only to have his plan discovered by a particularly motivated little boy, a chain of events is set in motion that includes blackmail, helicopters, secret warehouses, explosions, an army of nude old men, and the legend of spanking children until their skin falls off. At times, it's easier to like the idea of Helander's film than to actually like the film itself. And yet, his knack for reinvention—adding to the story, re-orienting who is doing what to whom—is so winning that Rare Exports moves with a swiftness and certainty that almost doesn't allow for boredom or dissatisfaction. Even with its darker undercurrents, the film is surprisingly sweet: In its own way, it never stops believing in Santa Claus, and by ultimately revealing itself as a boy's adventure story, it actually celebrates the youthful, innocent exuberance of holding on to that faith. It's likely the best anti-Christmas Christmas movie since Bad Santa. (NR) MARK OLSEN
Fri., Dec. 9, 9:30 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 10, 9:30 p.m., 2011