Beautiful, moving film.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I liked this movie having seen it in the English dubbed version. I was not aware of any of the actors so the for-mentioned appearance of a Finnish Pop Star (Antti Tuisku) wasn't something I was looking for and felt the character blended in well as it was kept short.For those that mention this Santa version vs the USA version, I have only one thing to say....The North Pole is in Canada, not the USA. And I think the Finnish version did a nice job of giving Santa (of any version) that classic look of what he may have seemed like in the beginning. For reference purposes the USA/Canadian version of Santa was created by the Coca Cola company for advertisement purposes and was never meant to become the North American standard version.The movie to me was sad, funny and thoughtful. I thought it went a long way to give a classic children's myth a realistic beginning. My three daughters (21, 18 & 13) watched this with me and all loved it. The only complaint was the dubbing. They had never seen a foreign movie before and assumed no matter where it was made the lips should match the English words......kids.I gave this movie a high rating based on what I saw. I don't look at the cinematography or pay much attention to musical scores. I watch a movie and it either resonates with me or it doesn't and this one did.My only regret is that I don't speak Finnish so I could judge the difference between the acting and hearing the characters as they were written as opposed to the overdub.

The Christmas story, Joulutarina, is a heartwarming story of the Finnish Santa Claus. Heartwarming maybe to Finns, though not to many who prefer the red American Santa Claus. I had to see this a few times before it settled in. It's not a master piece, but what made me grade it as high as I did, beside the main plot and a few good Finnish actors, was the beautiful, beautiful landscape. Very nice to watch. Lapland in cold winter.A few minus points: the sun is not that high as shown in the film during Christmas, actually the sun doesn't shine much at all in Lapland during December.Part of the scenes and sets were a bit cheesy, for example going down in the woodshed for the first time. The candles were blazing when Nikolaus and Iisakki went down for the first time, though it is assumable that no-one had been down there yet that day. Who knows.One particular factor that really bugged me was the use of language throughout the whole film - modern Finnish was used, with some slangy words and sayings of this time. They absolutely did not fit in along. Antti Tuisku. Nononono. Absolutely fake.All in all, though, a nifty package.

Americans may think Santa Claus lives in North Pole but in Finland everybody knows the truth about his place of residence: he is really from the Korvatunturi fell in Finnish Lapland. Based on this premise is also built Christmas Story, the second feature film of director Juha Wuolijoki who was previously best known for the peculiar culinary TV comedy Gourmet Club (2004) featuring the sturdy Michael Badalucco among others.As opposed to presenting later adventures of the Santa we all know, Christmas Story sets out to reveal how he originally became what he is nowadays seen as. At the beginning a young boy named Nikolas (Jonas Rinne) becomes orphaned in Northern Finland sometime in the mid-19th century and the compassionate villagers start taking turns in looking after him, always for one year at a time. The thankful Nikolas takes up secretly leaving small presents for the friendly families every Christmas but upon the arrival of the great famine years, the villagers have no choice but to give the boy in the custody of the seemingly brutal and feared hermit carpenter Iisakki (Kari Väänänen). While learning the secrets of woodwork under the guidance of his strict new master, Nikolas never forgets the good people who once helped him and keeps making new presents for every Christmas.I admit I was sceptical about the movie long before seeing it since Christmas movies have a history of being corny cheesefests and this one appeared to be no exception. Things were not helped by the fact that it also marked the acting debut of the highly popular but tremendously charisma-free pop star Antti Tuisku whose involvement felt like a cheap attempt to cater to the masses at the expense of professional casting. Luckily, I was proved wrong: the story is actually pretty down-to-earth and keeps the most obvious tearjerking clichés at arm's length at all times. Kari Väänänen does a great job as the scary Iisakki who is revealed to be a bitter and sad old man under his hateful surface and Hannu-Pekka Björkman is excellent as the heavily bearded adult Nikolas. The kid actor Otto Gustavsson is given a decent-sized role as the 13-year old Nikolas but gives no reasons to complain and Antti Tuisku's role is kept small enough to not get too distracting after all. I really hope the dubbing does not ruin the performances for viewers outside Finland.Although the origins of a few obligatory Santa trademarks are of course presented (namely, how he got the reindeer, started dressing in red and became dedicated to his cause), the plot is not concerned with the real folkloristic roots of the historical Sinterklaas. Instead, the main focus is wisely kept on the characters and their development over the many decades the story covers. Nikolas is a thoroughly sympathetic man but can also be seen as a tragic loner driven by an obsession stemming from past traumas. Loneliness, fear of growing old, slipping further and further down into a crazed world of his own... He is not free of problems but fights them in his own way. Eh, maybe I'm digging too deep into the story but hey, isn't that the fun thing about watching movies anyway?Technically Christmas Story is "at international level" like we Finns like to say about movies that do not look cozily clumsy and home-baked. The numerous shots of snowy scenery, the softly lit interiors and the elaborate carpentry equipment in Iisakki and Nikolas' workshop look all good and the score by Leri Leskinen is adequately dramatic and expressive throughout, even if also sentimental and overbearing at times. The sole supernatural scene at the end comes closest to the traditional American image of Santa; I am not sure if it fits in the earthy tone that has been maintained in earlier scenes but I guess a flashy finale was needed to ensure the aforementioned feel of "international quality".After five rambling paragraphs, all I wanted to say was that I was positively surprised by the movie and think it is a well made holiday season film. It pleasantly avoids promoting consumerism or ramming a corny pro-nuclear family message down the throats of the audience. Perhaps some braver stylization could have raised the movie even higher above mediocre Christmas romp but it is definitely quality family entertainment as it is now too – peaceful, lovable and able to hold the interest of older viewers as well.

This film is one mixed bag. Technically it couldn't be any better. The cinematography by Mika Orasmaa is masterful and the soundtrack by Leri Leskinen does not fall short of the visuals. The Lappish scenery is magnificent and the movie props and costumes create a remarkably romantic and fairy tale-like atmosphere without losing a sense of reality. I was captivated by the execution of the film.That being said, the acting is highly inconsistent - at best great (Kari Väänänen) and at worst performed by a former Finnish idols runner-up, Antti Tuisku (you can't make that up). This may or may not be a problem with the dubbed English version, but it sure as hell stands out like a sore thumb in the Finnish-spoken original here and there. The dialogue, it must be said, at times makes George Lucas seem like a pretty decent screenwriter.As for the story, it may not be for everyone. There are scenes that border the questionable for a children's' movie about Santa, although certainly none of them spoil the film (or Christmas for that matter). It's not a sugar-coated Disney flick, but it's also neither depressing nor without humor or joy. Bottom line, all's well that ends well.