Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The White Reindeer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 30, 2019

Erik Blomberg's "The White Reindeer" (1952) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the director's first short film; audio essay by film journalist and writer Amy Simmons; audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger; and more. In Finnish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The wife

I am going to make a pretty big speculation although I am quite certain I am not the only one that has thought of it. I don’t think that it will be a ridiculous speculation either. In fact, the more details I add to it, the more convinced I become that there is quite a bit of truth in it. It will come up toward the bottom of this article.

A couple of nights ago I sat down to view Erik Blomberg’s film The White Reindeer, not knowing anything about it other than it has been recently restored. I expected that it would turn out to be a moving drama or touching romantic melodrama with a memorable period atmosphere. When the opening credits disappeared and the vast frozen fields of Lapland appeared on my screen and then the beautiful Pirita (Miriami Kuosmanen) was introduced to her future husband, I felt confident that I knew the exact direction in which the film will head.

In a matter of minutes, however, I was proven wrong. Very wrong.

Not only did the film choose a different direction, but it was also one that I would not have thought of in a million years. This isn’t an exaggeration. I absolutely did not expect the transformation that was already underway. The film gradually became darker and moodier, and then with a couple of sequences completely altered its identity. In the crucial sequence that initiates the change Pirita visits an aging shaman and begs him to make her hunting husband come back sooner, and he agrees, but during a sacred ritual something goes terribly wrong and a demonic force overtakes her soul. In another sequence Pirita then becomes a giant white reindeer and goes after the area’s greatest hunters.

To say that I was glued to my screen would be a major understatement because the visuals just kept getting more and more atmospheric, and it was all thanks to Blomberg’s ability to use nature’s beauty in a variety of unique ways. There were no special effects, just smart camera positioning and incredible management of light and shadow. (There is one particular sequence where Pirita kneels before some scattered antlers that is so simple yet so brilliant that I actually had to use my remote and go back to see it one more time).

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this film is that it never creates the impression that it actually seeks the dark ambience that defines it. It has that casual flow that Blomberg’s documentaries do, so when it transitions into the ‘other side’ the dark and unsettling just feels a bit more real than it should. Or at least it does for a film that was directed in the early 1950s.

When the final credits rolled the first thing that went through my mind was that there is absolutely no way that Ingmar Bergman had not seen Blomberg’s film, and maybe even studied it. It came out in 1952, and Bergman directed The Seventh Seal in 1957, so there was plenty of time for the Swedish master to discover it. What I really found quite intriguing, however, is how these two films very casually pull the viewer in a surreal place and then just as casually make it look real. Blomberg’s film is more direct while Bergman’s film engages the mind in a very particular way, but they accomplish the exact same thing. Just a coincidence? Right now, I don’t think so. Maybe I will change my mind after I spend more time deconstructing Blomberg’s film and then revisit it, but at the moment I see a connection. I just need to decide how big.

*Eureka Entertainment’s release of The White Reindeer is sourced from a 4K restoration that was completed by the National Audiovisual Institute of Finland in 2017.

The White Reindeer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Erik Blomberg's The White Reindeer arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration that was completed by the National Audiovisual Institute of Finland. Excluding some minor specks and flecks that pop up here and there the restoration looks quite wonderful. Delineation and clarity, for instance, are very pleasing and depth is about as good as I expected it to be. I think that the grading could have been a tad more careful to avoid what appears to be extremely light black crush that appears in some areas, but it is very possible that the effect might have been inherited from the existing elements (see screencapture $5). Generally speaking, the overall balance during daylight and nighttime footage is actually very good. I did not see any traces of problematic digital work, though some rebalancing work was almost certainly performed. Viewed on a large screen, the film has a stable and solid organic appearance. Image stability is good. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The White Reindeer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Finnish LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Einar Englund's music score is a lot more important than the dialog (which is minimal). In fact, it feels like the music even dictates the progression of the dramatic intensity. Fortunately, the audio is stable and clean. Only in the upper register from time to time it is easy to tell that the music comes from an aged source, but there are no serious distracting anomalies to report.

The White Reindeer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Essay - an exclusive audio essay by film journalist and writer Amy Simmons. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• Commentary - an exclusive audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger.

• With the Reindeer - presented here is Erik Blomberg's very first short documentary film, which he shot in 1947. Newly restored. In Finnish, with optional English subtitles. (8 min).

• Color Test Footage - shot by Erik Blomberg and featuring actress Mirjami Kuosmanen. (2 min).

• Jussi Awards - presented here is archival footage from the 1952 edition of the Jussi Awards where The White Reindeer won Best Leading Actress (Mirjami Kuosmanen), Best Cinematography (Erik Blomberg), and Best Music (Einar Englund) awards. In Finnish, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and journalist Philip Kemp.

The White Reindeer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Erik Blomberg's The White Reindeer caught me completely off-guard and at one point I was actually quite stunned by its transformation. It is so unique and effective that right now I feel very comfortable speculating that it could have influenced Ingmar Bergman to shoot The Seventh Seal a few years later. Eureka Entertainment's release is sourced from a lovely 4K restoration that was recently completed in Finland. If you decide to pick up a copy for your library, keep in mind that it is Region-B "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.