#mirjami kuosmanen

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Mirjami Kuosmanen in The White Reindeer (Valkoinen peura, 1952)

[marypickfords]

The Song of the Scarlet Flower (Teuvo Tulio, 1938)

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The White Reindeer (1952) | dir. Erik Blomberg

[cinenthusiast]

The Song of the Scarlet Flower (1938, Tulio)

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The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, 1952)

[watcher-in-the-woods]

The White Reindeer (Valkoinen Peura, 1952) Directed by Erik Blomberg Written by Erik Blomberg and Mirjami Kuosmanen

[missholson]

The women of Olavi (Kaarlo Oksanen): Annikki (Mirjami Kuosmanen), Elli (Nora Mäkinen), the dark girl (Birgit Nuotio), Terttu (Maire Ranius), and Kyllikki (Rakel Linnanheimo).

Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta (1938) dir. Teuvo Tulio

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The White Reindeer (1952)

[waste-it-on-something-useful]

The perfect film to precede The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, 1952), available on MUBI, is Jean Epstein’s short released five years prior, Le Tempestaire (1947), which is still free to see in a stunning restoration on the Cinémathèque française’s online platform Henri.

Both black-and-white films center on a young woman who, in the absence of her fiancé / husband, hopes to find comfort in some form by seeking the help of a local tempest / shaman channeling (or claiming to channel) the old gods. In awe of nature's potential power, these women are drawn to its beauty yet horrified by its mysterious force. Their stories, based on pre-Christian traditional beliefs and told with little dialogue, become cautionary tales. There’s an underlying current of a search for passion and freedom, through the storm and the hunt, and consequently a loss of innocence. It's lyrical cinema at its finest. Two profound poems of sea and snow.

Screenshots: Mirjami Kuosmanen in The White Reindeer (left) and unknown actress in Le Tempestaire (right)

[omnivorouscinephilia]

The White Reindeer: The Finnish Folk Horror Classic

Here is a review of one of the most famous Finnish films ever made, The White Reindeer. An odd passion project for it's married creative leads, this remains a unique work within folk horror.

Folk horror continues to be a significant subject of interest within our spheres, thanks in no small part to the recent publications and boxsets created to celebrate and highlight the trend. The term originates in the seventies, positing recent British works like Blood on Satan’s Claw (Piers Haggard, 1971), Witchfinder General (Michael Reeves, 1968), and The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)…

[soulsanitarium]

The White Reindeer (Finnish: Valkoinen peura) is a 1952 folk horror drama film directed by Erik Blomberg in his feature film debut. He made the script with his wife Mirjami Kuosmanen, who is playing the leading role. It was entered in competition at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Jean Cocteau-led jury special award for Best Fairy Tale Film.

Blomberg interviewed few local people for the film and made some background work. However the idea for the film was purely inspired by the daydreaming of his wife, old European folk tales and anthropology from Africa (more precisely shamanistic witch beliefs of the Azande -tribe).

The Sámi (/ˈsɑːmi/ SAH-mee; also spelled Sami or Saami) are a Finno-Ugric-speaking people inhabiting the region of Sápmi (formerly known as Lapland). There are some reindeer myths related to this movie in their mythology (old religion) in some areas. Such as half human half a deer - god.

The Seita is a holy place, A Sami sacred place. One of the well known Seita is Ukko’s island. It is a rocky island in lake inari. Reindeer was also the most popular sacrificial animal in bigger rituals, fish or fat of the fish was common for fishermen. If the matter was small then there was no need for animal sacrifice. There are stories of human sacrifices but these stories can also be legends and ghost stories.

Below: I got the chance to visit Ukko’s island in winter 2023 with the snowmobile

Witches Drum in conjunction with the magic singing spells and different powders is seen in the film. The witch's drum was usually an oval small drum covered with reindeer skin with some patterns drawn on the membrane the drumstick or rather the hammer was made of reindeer bone horn. Or it could be also metal. Rings made of metal were placed on the top of the membrane and moved over the patterns. The Shaman interpreted the meanings of the patterns and guided the rings where depending on whether intention was good or bad. In a 1673 book Lapponia you can find drawings copied from the original drums. Most of the drums were later destroyed by the Christian priests.

The most scary mentioned “real” thing in the film is Ruumiinmulta (bodily soil). It was a poison used in magical revenge. Soil could be just soil from the graveyard, but more powerful soil was collected from the corpse.

Above: Very rare silver jewelry that was found from Ukko’s island ( Sami museum Siida in Inari ) also you can see the drums rings & bone hammer below it. Below: Aurora in the center of Inari village & The photo of the witches drum is from the Siida museum (the Christian priests destroyed every drum from Finland so this drum is borrowed from Sweden- hopefully they will donate the drum to the museum permanently).

[weirdlookindog]

Mirjami Kuosmanen in The White Reindeer (Valkoinen peura, 1952)

[docrotten]

THE WHITE REINDEER (VALKOINEN PEURA, 1952) – Episode 151 – Decades Of Horror: The Classic Era

“Herbs from beyond 10 fells, besides 10 streams, some graveyard soil, … the balls of 10 bull moose, the strength of 10 bull moose. Tsalkku-Nilla the Wizard can bring back lost reindeer. Tsalkku-Nilla the Great Wizard can raise the dead!” You never can tell when you’ll need to bring back a lost reindeer or raise the dead. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Doc Rotten, and Jeff Mohr – as they take a trip north of the Arctic Circle in search of The White Reindeer (1952).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 151 – The White Reindeer (1952)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

A newlywed woman goes to the local shaman to get some help with her love life, but instead discovers she is a witch and can now shapeshift into a white reindeer vampire.

Director: Erik Blomberg

Writers: Erik Blomberg, Mirjami Kuosmanen

Music by: Einar Englund

Cinematography by: Erik Blomberg

Film Editing by: Erik Blomberg (uncredited)

Makeup Department: Mirjami Kuosmanen (makeup artist, uncredited)

Costume & Wardrobe Dept: Mirjami Kuosmanen (wardrobe, uncredited)

Selected Cast:

Mirjami Kuosmanen as Pirita and as Maarita, Pirita’s mother

Kalervo Nissilä as Aslak

Åke Lindman as Metsänhoitaja, forest ranger

Arvo Lehesmaa as Tsalkku-Nilla, shaman

Jouni Tapiola as Niila, reindeer herder

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)

The Grue Crew explores the little-known, yet highly effective, 1952 Finnish horror classic, The White Reindeer. This film is worth seeking out for the cinematography alone. The horror and the “creatures” are Lewtonesque, more implied than shown, but without a doubt, the film includes witches, vampires, and changelings. Oh my! A must-see, The White Reindeer is a lost treasure that horror fans, especially horror historians, should re-discover. Check out what the Grue Crew has to share.

In the U.S., current streaming options for The White Reindeer are limited to YouTube and archive.org. The White Reindeer is available on physical media as a Eureka Entertainment Region 2 Blu-ray from the UK and as a Region A/B/C Import Blu-ray from Finland.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, as chosen by Daphne, is Il Demonio (1963). Ready for some Italian folk horror? The Classic Era Grue Crew is! You won’t want to miss this one! 

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!

[grusinskayas]

The White Reindeer | Valkoinen peura (1952) dir. Erik Blomberg

[estateofinsanity]

Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta / The Song of the Scarlet Flower (Teuvo Tulio, 1938)

[bialoipokku]

The White Reindeer (Erik Blomberg, 1952)