The White Reindeer
Encyclopedia
The White Reindeer is a 1952 Finnish horror
drama film
directed by Erik Blomberg
. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival
.
beliefs and set in Lapland, centers on the young woman Pirita. In the snowy landscape, Pirita and Aslak meet, and soon marry. It is not long, however, before the shepherd husband wanders off, leaving his wife lonely and heartbroken. In an effort to solve her marital problems, Pirita visits the local shaman, who indeed helps her out, but in the process turns her into a shapeshifting
, vampiric reindeer who preys upon the villagers.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Erik Blomberg
Erik Blomberg
Erik Blomberg was a Finnish cinematographer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He was married to actress Mirjami Kuosmanen.-External links:...
. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival
1953 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Jean Cocteau *Louis Chauvet *Titina De Filippo *Guy Desson *Philippe Erlanger *Renée Faure *Jacques-Pierre Frogerais *Abel Gance *André Lang...
.
Plot
The film, based on folkloricFinnish mythology
Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with Finnish paganism which was practised by the Finnish people prior to Christianisation. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its non-Finnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians...
beliefs and set in Lapland, centers on the young woman Pirita. In the snowy landscape, Pirita and Aslak meet, and soon marry. It is not long, however, before the shepherd husband wanders off, leaving his wife lonely and heartbroken. In an effort to solve her marital problems, Pirita visits the local shaman, who indeed helps her out, but in the process turns her into a shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
, vampiric reindeer who preys upon the villagers.
Cast
- Mirjami Kuosmanen - Pirita / Maarita - Pirita's mother
- Kalervo Nissilä - Aslak
- Åke LindmanÅke LindmanÅke Leonard Lindman , born Åke Leonard Järvinen, was a Finnish director and actor.In his youth Lindman was a football player, playing defence for the Finnish national team during the Olympics in Helsinki 1952. He represented the football club HIFK in the Finnish league. In the 1960s, the British...
- Forest Ranger - Jouni Tapiola - Reindeer shepherd
- Arvo Lehesmaa - Tsalkku-Nilla, Shaman
- Tyyne Haarla - Older woman (uncredited)
- Pentti Irjala - The Speaker (uncredited)
- Edvin Kajanne - Reindeer shepherd (uncredited)
- Kauko Laurikainen - Man in Laplander's hut (uncredited)
- Heimo Lepistö - Wealthy Man (uncredited)
- Osmo Osva - Reindeer shepherd (uncredited)
- Aarne Tarkas - The Groom (uncredited)
- Inke Tarkas - The Bride (uncredited)
- Evald Terho - Pirita's father (uncredited)
- Kaarlo Wilska - Reindeer shepherd (uncredited)