| Date | Showtimes |
|---|---|
| Thursday, December 21 | 7:00 PM |
Young Pietari (Onni Tommila) and his reindeer-hunter father Rauno (Jorma Tommila) live in Arctic Finland. On Christmas Eve, a multinational corporation accidentally unearths the real Santa Claus during a clandestine archaeological excavation. However, this Santa Claus does not subsist on milk and cookies… The local reindeer-hunters discover hundreds of reindeer carcasses. Rauno captures Santa Claus in a trap and sets out to sell him to the leader of the multinational corporation as reparations for the dead reindeer. But Santa’s elves relentlessly fight for their leader, setting in motion a wild and whimsical nightmare in this small, isolated Finnish town. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is a bizarre and inventive re-imagining of the myth of Santa Claus that provides a wry commentary on capitalism, masculinity and the spirit of Christmas.
Ragtag Cinema will be screening Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale on a 35mm print courtesy of Chicago Film Society.
""Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale" is a rather brilliant lump of coal for your stocking hung by the fireside with care. How else to explain an R-rated Santa Claus origin story crossed with "The Thing" (1982)?"
–Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com
"Kids will love the diminutive, motherless hero and a plot that’s completely bonkers; adults will enjoy the exuberantly pagan images and deadpan humor. Tots, on the other hand, will probably never sit on Santa’s lap again."
–Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
