BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Mihai Toma
Since he was a small child, Nikolas had a habit of carving wooden toys which he would gift to other children for Christmas. But, once he loses his parents, he's being moved from family to family for shelter, year after year, until nobody could afford to keep him. Finally, he gets adopted by a grumpy and strict carpenter which is determined to make him his apprentice, but still young Nikolas isn't going to give up his habit. Against all odds and difficulties this caused him, he'll deliver to each kid he knew a new toy, every year at Christmas, with some help from time to time.It's a dramatic story of a kid, struggling with poverty in a cold and remote village, who finds joy and relief in creating and delivering toys to other children. Although he grows up and his life becomes harder and harder, he's determined to do whatever it takes to bring joy to other during Christmas. We're presented his life since he was tiny until he becomes the famous Santa Claus we all know today. Although predictable, the story is rather solid, bringing plenty of drama and emotion along the way. Yes, it has a couple of boring moments, or fillers you might call them, but it still is a good watch overall.It can bring a lot of warmth into one's heart although all the action happens in a freezing environment. It presents a good story, with good characters, in an unique winter atmosphere which manages to create a very good movie to watch especially during the winter holidays.
J.
This movie is excellent. All the actors are great and clearly know what they're doing, even the kids, and the scenes, mostly shot in Lapland, look very great. And the dialogue, while not the best imaginable, is quite decent. I can't believe I hadn't seen this great film before! So the movie begins with young Nikolas (later Santa), whose parents and little sister Aada die in an accident quite predictable but still sad. Since his parents died, the six families in the village decide to take care of him, each for a year, until after six years a famine strikes and they can't take care of an extra mouth anymore. So this lonely and grumpy carpenter called Iisakki takes Nikolas and, after at first being very rude towards him, raises him as his own son. Each Christmas, they together give gifts to the children in the village, and thus a tradition has begun...This movie is, as I already told, very good, and I'm sure this will some day become a classic.
Kirpianuscus
its simplicity. this is the basic virtue of this admirable touching film. nothing new, at the first sigh. nothing extraordinary. the story of a poor boy and its purpose of life. the great thing is the atmosphere. you touch each scene. to discover, again and again, old memories. about other poor boys, about small communities, about childhood and about dark character with painful past. it could be a fairy tale or reinvent of the origins of a tradition. but it is more - a real simple story who gives the chance to Hannu - Pekka Bjorkmann to give a realistic in magic manner portrait of Santa, to Kari Vaananen to remind pages from Dickens and to be the perfect master and to Laura Bim to shine.and, sure, the role of cinematography, landscapes and smell of the house are important details. it is more than a Christmas film. it is only a simple story about basic values. and this does it successful.
allikaattor
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.
