films seen
5
average score
2.60*
nationality
status
Alive and kicking
more info

Movies


The Match Factory Girl

Tulitikkutehtaan Tyttö
1990 / 69m - Finland
Comedy, Drama
3.0*/5.0*
The Match Factory Girl poster

It's been a while since I last watched a Kaurismäki film. I'm not entirely on board with his barren, stark style, but the man has a clear signature and that's worth something. The Match Factory Girl is one of the better films I've seen of him, in part because it's also one of the shortest I've seen of him.

Read all

Iris still lives with her parents, two very strict and old-fashioned people. She works in a match factory, hardly the most engaging job in the world. When she gets pregnant after a one-night stand with a man who mistakes her for a prostitute, Iris decides it's time to live her life the way she wants.

There isn't too much emotion here, not in the performances, nor the plot, nor the styling, even so Kaurismäki does manage to insert some humor into his film. I did appreciate his minimalist approach up to a certain point and the ending, though not quite surprising, was well handled. A pretty interesting film.


The Man without a Past

Mies Vailla Menneisyyttä
2002 / 97m - Finland
Comedy, Drama
2.5*/5.0*
The Man without a Past poster

Another micro-shorts anthology. They were relatively popular for a while, but they rarely lived up to their potential. With just a single minute to make an impression, directors were given a tricky challenge. One that proved a bit too daunting for most involved, as too many of the entries failed to make an impact.

Read all

This isn't so much a real film as it was an experience though. There doesn't remain a proper copy of this anthology since it was only screened once, then burned right after. I usually stray from watching low-quality recordings, but with nothing else available, it was either that or not watching it ever.

There are some interesting names here, but few of them stand out. The goals of the project are lofty, but it's all very conceptual and the films themselves never really match or strengthen the project's ideals. It's a good thing that the score is pretty interesting, which at least kept me going. Not all that interesting.