Sadly Over-hyped

I wanted to but couldn't!

Absolutely Fantastic

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I have been donning the red suit and beard for over 30 years and I have to say,this is the most refreshing Santa movie I have ever seen. It does a superb job in "humanizing" the character and showing what led to his uncompromising goodness and kindness to others. There are many different versions of where the Santa we know originated from, and this film does not try to convince you that this version is true. Rather, it allows you to sit back and just enjoy a different "spin" on the origin of the man in red. It even gives very believable explanations for some of the myths and legends. The Christmas Season is all about love, and I believe that is true no matter where you are from. This movie has true heart and displays the love "Santa" has for all. I would highly recommend this movie for families as it is nothing but pure Christmas joy.

Beautiful. If I were forced to choose a single word to describe Wuolijoki's Christmas Story, that is what it would be. Beautiful. Christmas Story is, for me, one of the most pleasant surprises of the season. Others have already summarized the plot extremely well, so I won't waste your time describing the story line. What you should know is this: Positives: Stunning cinematography. You will be hard pressed to find a more luminous and atmospheric film. The otherworldly, fairy-tale, winters of Finland are captured with a richness reminiscent of the resplendent winter scenes in Polanski's Fearless Vampire Killers. (In spite of the dubbing) The performances are world class, but the beautiful and talented Laura Birn truly shines in her role as Aada. Negatives: The presentation offered no option for subtitles/original language. The dubbing is distracting and I think ultimately works to pull the viewer out of the otherwise magical experience. Film is shaped by many elements, and the auditory component is arguably more important than the visual. I think the film would regain some lost magic if our ears were offered the indulgence of enjoying the film in its original language. Although American audiences may not respond well to the film's tiptoed pace and lack of shallow Hollywood glitter, given the opportunity to enjoy some depth in their film viewing experience, Wuolijoki's Christmas Story will open many unsuspecting eyes to what holiday themed film-making should be.

OK, so the scenery was great and the photography nice, but that's not why I rented this DVD. I wanted to see a nice heartwarming Christmas story. This was not what I considered to be a good "family" picture. It is dark and depressing at parts. I'm sure the translation loses something and the way people see "Santa" is different overseas.In the Netherlands they have an assistant to Saint Nick that frightens bad children, so not every culture is the same. Parts of the English dubbing were so poor the characters simply grumbled or made noises to cover lip movement of the original Finnish.But, taking all the high points and low points together about this film I would still not recommend it for American kids under 10.Obviously I did not enjoy this dark and poorly told story of Finnish/Lapland Santa Clause. I don't think most Americans will relate to the story.

I actually got to see this movie for the first time in Rome, Italy this past October during a film festival. Before that, I had never heard of this movie, let alone that they were dubbing a version in English. I got to meet the director who was very nice. He talked about all the things that a beginning filmmaker should never do, including working in bad weather, working with children, special effects, and animals, all of which were done for this movie. Shot on location in the dead of winter, with real reindeer, this is a pretty impressive piece of work. It's also a great movie to add to the collection of other Christmas films. I can't predict whether it will become a Christmas classic, but I can say that I liked the back story given to Santa Claus in this movie.