El reno blanco

I really like this one, i think it's one of the best old Finnish movies. The landscapes and photography are beautiful, which is not very surprising for film shooted in Lapland, and the movie itself is interesting in terms of plot and style. The story is based into old folk-story, so it is quite different and unique plot for horror movie. The cast, especially Mirjami Kuosmanen and Åke Lindman, made good job in this one.

As people have many times said, this movie is not very scary, but how many old horror flicks are? I don't recall being very scared in any movie made 1950's or earlier. This movie is still very interesting and unique. It's a great part of the history of Finnish cinema. I recommend this for all fans of old black and white movies.

Be careful what you wish for is the moral of this captivating 1952 fantasy horror (a rare genre movie from Finland), and perhaps the world's only example of Sami gothic cinema. A newly-married young woman, Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen), desperate for affection, visits a shaman who offers a potion that makes her an irresistible object of desire, but there is a terrible cost. Pirita becomes a bloodthirsty shapeshifter who lures men out into the barren wilderness where she kills them. It was the directorial debut of Finnish cinematographer Erik Blomberg, and was filmed amongst the starkly beautiful fells of Finnish Lapland. Blomberg combines an almost documentary filming style with avant-garde experimentation to produce a dreamy art-house horror film without compare, and it remains one of world cinema's criminally under-seen masterpieces. The film was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Jean Cocteau-led jury special award for Best Fairy Tale Film. After its limited release five years later in the United States, it was one of five films to win the 1956 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

This film is quite unique in Finnish movie history. And it also has been filmed during a period when old Lapland and some real Lapp culture could be found from Northern Finland. Not that everything is authentic, but anyway this film combines nostalgia with fantasy and even horror and treats the Lapp culture with at least some respect. And landscapes are definitely worth seeing! Hmmm... the only film I know where a human being gets transferred into reindeer! One should be careful where to look at!

This is a movie that I heard about through podcasts originally. The idea sounded interesting so it went on a list to check out. For December on Journey with a Cinephile: A Horror Movie Podcast, I like to do winter-based movies. This one also doubled as a Trek through the Twos as well as being from 1952.

Synopsis: a newlywed woman goes to the local shaman to get help with her love life, but instead she gets turned into a white reindeer vampire.

We start this off with a song while seeing a barren, snowy landscape. The song is telling the story that we are going to see. Part of it that I wanted to point out is that it says about a girl born a witch. We then see a woman traversing the land, Pirita (Mirjami Kuosmanen). It then shifts over to a community of people. There looks to be a race where reindeer are pulling people in sleds. We see that she is vibing one of the men, Aslak (Kalvero Nissilä). The two soon marry.

Things don't go as she planned. Aslak is a reindeer herder and he's gone for long stretches. She is lonely. She decides to seek the aid of a shaman. He goes by Tsalkku-Nilla (Arvo Lehesmaa). Something goes awry during their meeting and in the end, he tells her to seek out the stone god and pray to him for help. She does, but it doesn't necessarily give her the results that she wants. It makes her irresistible to men. It also makes her into a shapeshifter. She then starts to take on the form of a white reindeer. The curse that comes with this is to feed on the men who come after her.

There are mysterious deaths that put the community into fear. The men know that the victims were going after this rare, white reindeer and that it is cursed. They also believe that a witch is behind it. To save their people, they decide it needs to be killed. What they don't realize is that it is one in their community.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap as this doesn't have the deepest story. It is interesting that I saw this played at Cannes Film Festival during its release. It also won best Fairy Tale feature as well. That is the best way to describe this. The song in the beginning sets that tone and with how things play out, there is a cautionary tale this is trying to relay.

I think that is also where I'll start then with delving into this movie. We see this couple meet and then fall in love. They get married and things should be perfect from there. Aslak is gone for long stretches. There were scenes that I saw where I thought due to this, Pirita cheats on him. Looking at a recap of the movie, I think that scene shows Pirita's mother of Maarita. They're played by the same person. It makes me wonder the purpose of that scene now. Regardless, I like this idea of being thankful for what you have and not meddling. By doing so, Pirita makes things much worse for herself.

Going along with this, I want to go over to the fairy tale aspects. This is supernatural, of course. Pirita goes to see the shaman. He knows there is something different with her. I thought that was a good scene. It is interesting as well that the 'stone god' gives her the power that she wants. It comes at a price that she now must live off the blood men that come after her. It also forces her to change into a white reindeer. What is interesting here is that I've never seen a 'were-reindeer' film before so that was different. This is like vampire lore in that at first, she loves it. That goes away though which I thought adds a layer here as she fears being killed. There is also a bit of 'Jekyll and Hyde', that she can no longer control it either.

Where I'll go then would be acting. I thought that Kuosmanen was good as our lead. First, I think she is attractive. I think that is needed for this role. What I like is that she seems like a good person until she is 'tainted' with this curse. That is where I think the best part of the performance comes out. She is embracing the evil until it becomes too much. That worked for me. I'd then say that Nissilä was solid as her husband. I liked Lehesmaa as the shaman. The rest of the cast also rounded this out for what was needed as well.

Then the last things to go into would be with the filmmaking. I love the cinematography here. The landscape just feels cold and barren. You can see that life is hard here. The shots look good. They don't anything that is too different, but I think they capture good things. There aren't a lot in the way of effects. It doesn't necessarily need them. Everything they do are in camera. Other than that, I'd say the soundtrack worked for what was needed. Something creepy this does is with the design. Hearing Pirita's laughter when it is disembodied is great. I was a fan there. I did want to say that this is a slow burn. I think part of that is the time it was made. I did find the pacing to help make this feel eerie in an effective way.

In conclusion, this is an interesting movie. I knew just a bit coming in and wasn't disappointed. This has a fairy tale feel to it that I enjoyed. There is a bit of a cautionary story as well that I'm a fan of. I thought that acting was good. This looks great and they do good things for the atmosphere with the sound design. I could have done with a bit more, but we are still early in cinema. I can see how this influenced things that came after it for sure. Worth a viewing if you are into foreign cinema and want to see a bit more of the history.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The White Reindeer opens with a folk song from Lapland, about a child who is born a witch, that is fated to offer a white reindeer to a stone God.

Fast forward a number of years later, and we find ourselves watching a beautiful and talented young woman fall in love with a popular reindeer herder.

He pursues her hand in marriage and the two are wed.

But he's not really the promiscuous type, and leaves for long spats on reindeer herding expeditions...while she lies in wait at home alone.

With another expedition coming up, he plans to give her with a gift, to show he loves her.

This gift is an albino reindeer, to keep as a pet.

But she gets lonely on these long nights alone...

So, one day, she sets off on an excursion of her own...to the hermit shack of a local shaman that practices witchcraft.

Bearing offerings of bread, cheese, meat and booze...she seeks to acquire a love potion, that will make her beloved as infatuated with her, as he was when he was when first wooing her.

But for this to take effect, she must sacrifice the first "living thing" she encounters on her way home.

Before he even finishes the ritual, the shaman realizes that she is actually the powerful witch that has been foretold of in their great myths.

Whether she realizes this herself or not is unclear, but, upon her return home, she is immediately struck with worry...as the first living things she sees are her husband- who has unexpectedly returned home- and her pet reindeer, who she has cared for since it was weened.

But which did she notice first?

To ensure the curse will be effective, she travels to the monument of the stone God, as she was told to, with her beloved pet- a token of his love for her- to sacrifice it.

But is killing a spirit animal like this a bad omen of it's own?

Impatient to find out if it has worked or not, she travels to the fells in search of her husband.

But he is off tracking a wolverine...when she realizes that the pact she has entered into might have been a ruse by the devil.

For, what is the one thing (other than a beautiful woman) that reindeer herders simply cannot resist, but a wild, white reindeer?

Upon this realization, she immediately transforms into a white reindeer, herself, under the light of a full moon.

And finds herself being pursued by another hunter, entirely.

When he manages to catch her, she instantly turns back into a woman...and he can't resist his urges.

So she mutilates him.

Before turning back into the reindeer again.

Now, each time there is a full moon, she turns into the white reindeer, and is pursued until she kills a man.

When the hunters realize that it must be the white witch reindeer from their tales, each time they find a dead man in Evil Valley- as the only tracks leading to the body are those of a reindeer (while the wounds are not compatible with anything a reindeer could possibly inflict)- they plan to kill it, in order to prevent any future murders from occurring.

And speak of the devil...

Upon her appearance, in front of the group of hunters currently discussing her demise, a cocky young hunter tries, unsuccessfully, to shoot her (though, you cannot kill her with bullets, rather, only an iron stake).

This causes her to reveal her true form, which he lives to tell the tale about...though, just barely.

Eventually, he recognizes her back at the camp, and she starts to become increasingly paranoid...believing that she's now turning into a wolf.

Luckily for her, they think he has gone mad, after his ordeal in the fells.

Now, all she can do is watch, as the whole town forges iron spears for the witch hunt...including her own husband.

So, she returns to the shack of the shaman to see if there is any hope for the curse to be lifted.

But it's too late.

The death of a white reindeer got her into this mess, now only the death of a white reindeer can get her out.

The film goes in a perfect circle, as it is her husband who ends up chasing her in the form of the white reindeer, as he did in the opening sleigh chase sequence, when the two fell in love.

The irony here is, that the curse was entirely unnecessary (and didn't even seem to work on who it was meant to affect), because he had always loved her from the beginning.

Making for a tragic love story, and a hauntingly beautiful film.

From the majestic herds, to the canoes pulled by lone reindeer, and the snow laden scenery...everything about Lapland culture is alluring.

And let's be honest...they have the best effing hats.

9 out of 10.