Harry at AICN digs this film even though he hasn’t seen it yet. With that said,  I am not quite sure what to make of the movie. It looks great, kind of funny, and was a big hit at Fantastic Festival.

The story starts out on eve of Christmas in northern Finland and an “archaeological” dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But this particular Santa isn’t the one you want coming to town.

When all the local children begin mysteriously disappearing, young Pietari and his father Rauno, a reindeer hunter by trade, capture the mythological being and attempt to sell Santa to the misguided leader of the multi-national corporation sponsoring the dig.

Santa’s elves, however, will stop at nothing to free their fearless leader from captivity. What ensues is a wildly humorous nightmare – a fantastically bizarre polemic on modern day morality. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is a re-imagining of the most classic of all childhood fantasies, and is a darkly comic gem soon to be required perennial holiday viewing.