The White Reindeer

The White Reindeer
Original release poster
Directed by Erik Blomberg
Produced by Aarne Tarkas
Written by Erik Blomberg
Mirjami Kuosmanen
Starring Mirjami Kuosmanen
Music by Einar Englund
Cinematography Erik Blomberg
Edited by Erik Blomberg
Production
company
Junior-Filmi
Distributed by Adams Filmi
Suomi-Filmi
Release date
  • 25 July 1952 (1952-07-25)
Running time
 74 minutes (1952)
68 minutes (1986 restoration)
Country Finland
Language Finnish

The White Reindeer (Finnish: Valkoinen peura, Swedish: Den Vita Renen) is a 1952 Finnish horror drama film directed by Erik Blomberg. It was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival[1] and earned the Jean Cocteau-led jury special award for Best Fairy Tale Film.[2] 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.[3][4]

Plot

The film, based on pre-Christian Finnish mythology and Sami shamanism, is set in Finnish Lapland and centers on a young woman, Pirita. In the snowy landscape, Pirita and reindeer herder Aslak meet and soon marry. Aslak must spend time away for work, leaving his new bride lonely. In an effort to alleviate her loneliness and ignite marital passion, Pirita visits the local shaman, who indeed helps her out; but in the process turns her into a shapeshifting, vampiric white reindeer. The villages' men are drawn to her and pursue her, with tragic results.[5][6]

Cast

  • Mirjami Kuosmanen as Pirita and as Maarita, Pirita's mother
  • Kalervo Nissilä as Aslak
  • Åke Lindman as forest ranger
  • Jouni Tapiola as reindeer herder
  • Arvo Lehesmaa as Tsalkku-Nilla, shaman
  • Tyyne Haarla as older woman (uncredited)
  • Pentti Irjala as the speaker (uncredited)
  • Edvin Kajanne as reindeer herder (uncredited)
  • Kauko Laurikainen as man in Laplander's hut (uncredited)
  • Heimo Lepistö as wealthy man (uncredited)
  • Osmo Osva as reindeer herder (uncredited)
  • Aarne Tarkas as the groom (uncredited)
  • Inke Tarkas as the bride (uncredited)
  • Evald Terho as Pirita’s father (uncredited)
  • Kaarlo Wilska as reindeer herder (uncredited)

Reception

Critical reception

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100%, based on 5 reviews, with a rating average of 6/10.[7]

Awards

Release

The White Reindeer was released theatrically outside of Finland at least in 11 countries, including the United States, Sweden and France.[8]

Home media

The film was released on VHS in Finland in 1990, and in the 2010s, DVDs were released in Finland and in France.[9] A 4K restoration from the original camera negative was realized in 2016–2017 by the National Audiovisual Institute of Finland, and was released on Blu-ray with Swedish and English subtitles.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: The White Reindeer". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  2. ↑ "The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, 1952)". Make Mine Criterion. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "List of Winners – Golden Globes Best Foreign Film". Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Sundholm, John & Thorsen, Isak & Andersson, Lars Gustaf & Hedling, Olof & Iversen, Gunnar & Møller, Birgir Thor. Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema (Google eBook). p. 389 et seq. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Valkoinen Peura Synopsis". Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Valkoinen Peura (The White Reindeer)". Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "Valkoinen Peura (The White Reindeer) (1952)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 Valkoinen peura at Elonet (in Finnish).
  9. ↑ White Reindeer (The) AKA Valkoinen peura (1952). DVD Compare, 31 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Blu-ray-julkaisut. National Audiovisual Institute (in Finnish).
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