The Finnish Line

This one breaks all the molds, and is more an adventure movie than a Christmas romance. Set in Finland, the movie follows a sled dog race as our heroine tries to win one of the few races her father lost in his lifetime.

Standing in her way is the same man whose dirty trick cost her father the race at the moment he should have taken the lead.

There really wasn't anything about this writing--either plot or dialog--that bothered me as ill thought. Our female lead comes across as someone with depth, conflicted by her motives to reclaim her father's only loss versus her desire to show her own success.

We very much enjoyed this film.

I had high hopes for this movie, but as someone of Finnish heritage I was ultimately disappointed. Overall the acting was ok but the Finnish accents were poor and the Finnish language pronunciations were mostly incorrect. They also referred to Finland as part of Scandinavia, which is incorrect. It is a Nordic country but not Scandinavian. They also left out some of the best parts of Finnish culture and traditions that would have added greatly. I would have liked to see actual Finnish actors and someone writing the script who actually knows Finland. It was a poor portrayal that could have been more authentic instead of like Finland was Googled for 5 minutes.

This is not only one of my all-time favourite Hallmark Christmas movies, it is one of my all-time favourite Hallmark movies of any theme. In fact, apart from the expected romance, and family love, this was not a 'typical' Hallmark. Many have been distinctive by their excellent direction and/or quality performances, this story has a beautifully written screenplay that is perfectly executed acting. The actors brought brand new character types that were intriguing and unexpected. It's also fun to learn about other cultures and customs, in this case, those of Finland. I guarantee we will be looking forward seeing this movie replayed every year.

One of the things that stood out to me in the story was Monty. I really hated him about as much as any Christmas rom/com villain ever. He went out of his way to pick on Anya including dirty tricks on the trail. But isn't it so typical of this kind of story that towards the end he has all kinds of excuses that make him the victim?

The race was a little confusing, but I think I figured it out. Anya talked about being so far behind she had too much time to make up that she would never win. Then when the final leg came, the way the movie showed the start and finish, it obscured that fact. I believe the explanation to how the finish could look close is because the start would have been staggered according to amount of time to make up, but it wasn't shown that way. Monty started first, but it looked like Anya left only shortly after that.

Then there is the climatic drama along the final leg. I'm not even sure what I think about that.

The trouble with rom/coms that center around contests, races, sporting events, etc is that the rom part of the movie gets diminished. I really didn't think Beau Mirchoff and Kim Matula had enough screen time to show much chemistry or explain why Anya and Cole fell in love. I loved Kim Matula last year in the Ghosts of Christmas Always, but I didn't care much for the way Anya got down on herself. Not sure how much that was writing or acting. Probably both.

The viewer gets to see a Finnish town that boasts as the home of Santa Claus and some local culture with it.

6.2 stars.

For the cool scenery and wonderful icy Finland and all that good stuff, this movie is nothing special for me. A good Hallmark film must evoke a sense of whimsy, romance, or endearment, but this sparks only a bit of each.

The dog sledding and racing aspects are interesting, but they are such a minor part of the movie that they are basically inconsequential until the very end. And there is a bit of suspense, but it doesn't redeem the story.

The script focuses mainly on the relationship of the two leads, but it's professional with an utter lack of heart or excitement. The only remaining possibility would be humor, which is completely absent.

I don't see the point of 'The Finnish Line'.