Christmas Story (2007)

The touching story of how Santa Claus came to be Santa.

Director:

Juha Wuolijoki

Writers:

Marko Leino (screenplay), Marko Leino (story)

Stars:

Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Otto Gustavsson, Jonas Rinne

5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hannu-Pekka Björkman	...	Nikolas
Otto Gustavsson	...	Nikolas 13-vuotiaana
Jonas Rinne	...	Nikolas 7-vuotiaana
Kari Väänänen	...	Iisakki
Minna Haapkylä	...	Kristiina
Mikko Leppilampi	...	Hannus
Mikko Kouki	...	Eemeli
Oskari Heimonen	...	Eemeli 11-vuotiaana
Roi Ron	...	Eemeli 5-vuotiaana
Laura Birn	...	Aada
Nella Siilasmaa	...	Aada 9-vuotiaana
Antti Tuisku	...	Mikko
Alpo Sipilä	...	Mikko 9-vuotiaana
Matti Ristinen	...	Einari
Eeva Soivio	...	Aleksandra

Storyline

Hundreds of years ago in Lapland, a little boy named Nikolas loses his family in an accident. The villagers decide to look after the orphaned boy together. Once a year - at Christmas - Nikolas moves to a new home. To show his gratitude, Nikolas decides to make toys for the children of the families as good-bye presents. Over the years, Nikolas's former adoptive families become many, and soon almost every house has presents on its doorstep on Christmas morning. At thirteen, Nikolas is sent to live and work with Iisakki, a grumpy old carpenter, who forbids Nikolas to continue making presents for Christmas. Gradually, however, Nikolas wins Iisakki's trust. Together they begin to look after the Christmas traditional that Nikolas has begun. When the aged Iisakki has to leave Nikolas and move away, the tradition of Christmas presents is once again at risk. Thankfully, Nikolas comes up with a solution that brings children joy every Christmas, even continuing to today.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | santa | toy | carpenter | santa claus | 

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Joulutarina [Finland]

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Christmas Story

Filming Locations:

Levi, Kittilä, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

€2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Scarpe Diem Productions,Snapper Films Oy

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Näin tehtiin Joulutarina (2007)

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Soundtracks

Hermannin Mollipolkka
Es. ja Sov. Markku Lepistö & Co
Säv. Trad
© Aito Records 2001

User Reviews

Great 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.