Julemandens datter (2018)

At the beginning of the film, archaeologist Lars discovers a treasure in a cave and calls his son Albert, but only the answering machine picks up. While leaving a message, he hears a noise in the background and goes to investigate. A monster attacks him, but he escapes with only minor injuries. Twelve-year-old Lucia lives with her mother Claudia and her father Julius, the Santa Claus of Denmark, in the patriarchal world of Santas. The boys attend Santa school, where they learn practical skills such as conjuring gifts and climbing down chimneys. Lucia, meanwhile, attends the girls’ class, where they practice knitting and baking cookies. But she would much rather study in the Santa class too. Shortly before the holidays, Santa Clauses and their families gather at the school for the annual Santa School Christmas celebration. That evening, Lucia wins the raffle, whose prize is the granting of one heartfelt wish. The Council of Elders discusses whether Lucia may transfer to the Santa class. To be admitted, she is given the task of granting the greatest wish of a child chosen by the council. They choose Albert from Viborg, whose wish is for his father Lars to regain his health. After the attack, Lars was confused and admitted to a sanatorium. Lucia accompanies Albert to visit his father. Her mentor Litteramus has given her a Santa encyclopedia, which helps her discover that Lars’s symptoms—amnesia, confusion, and excessive beard growth—were caused by an attack by the Krampus. Only the Krampus’s tears can cure Lars. After solving several riddles, Lucia and Albert find their way to the cave where Lars was attacked. There they find a dead badger, making it seem as though the badger had attacked Lars. Albert is furious and angrily turns away from Lucia because he believes she has been lying about the Krampus. Sad, Lucia returns to her parents’ home and realizes, in a conversation with her mentor, that she was right about the Krampus. She goes back to Albert, and after talking things over, they set off again to search for the Krampus. At the museum where Lars works, the two find a book that points them toward the Krampus. Lars’s boss Gorm is also searching for the place where the attack happened, hoping to find the treasure, and he pursues the children. Thanks to Lucia’s parents, they manage to escape him. Her parents also explain the Krampus’s past to Lucia. The Krampus had attended Santa school too, but when it was revealed that she was a girl in disguise who had sneaked into the Santa class, she was expelled. After that, instead of spreading joy, she was driven by greed and malice. Lucia, Albert, and Julius enter the cave and find a hidden passage with several traps, which they overcome. They encounter the Krampus, who attacks them. They tame the Krampus with an exorcism spell. After giving her an additional gift, the Krampus sheds tears of joy. The tears can cure Lars, but Lucia fails to meet the deadline set by the Council of Elders for completing the task. Since Lucia has in fact passed her test—and even freed the Krampus—she is admitted to the Santa class despite some initial resistance. She also succeeds in making it possible for girls in general to attend the class, and even for the Krampus to return to lessons.