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

Watches

November 04, 2021

3.0*/5.0*

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.

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.