He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

By Shelby

There are some Christmas movies I watch every year without fail (like Love Actually, Meet Me in St. Louis, Bad Santa, A Christmas Story to name a few), but it’s also fun to watch something that spices up your regularly-scheduled holiday viewing.

This year, you should pack some gingerbread, put on your cardboard and duct tape diaper and head over to the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar to catch the delightful Finnish film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. An action-adventure-mystery-comedy-horror hybrid, I’ve never seen a Christmas movie quite like it.

Set in the hinterlands of Finland amid constant snowfall, Rare Exports follows Pietari, his dad and some townsfolk as they uncover the real truth behind Santa. And it’s not pretty. Yeah, you may never look at Santa the same way again, but now that we’re all adults and footing our own bills for those presents under the tree, we know he’s not quite as holly jolly as we thought when we were kids.

The film effectively builds suspense throughout and has some really funny moments too, and believe me when I say that I am a huge chicken when it comes to scary movies, and yet I loved this movie. How could you not when Pietari, the main character, practically looks like he was drawn in a Pixar studio?

Overall, the movie gives a fascinating glimpse into what Christmas, and specifically the Santa Claus story, is like in a country quite different than our own. Check out the trailer, and head over to the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar to see it before the real Santa shows up next week. (Lock your chimney!)