The Match Factory Girl

1990 [FINNISH]

Comedy / Crime / Drama

11
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 85% · 6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 85% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.5/10 10 13353 13.4K

helsinki, finland factory worker match isolation parent child relationship poison

Plot summary

Iris is a shy and dowdy young woman stuck in a dead-end job at a match factory, who dreams of finding love at the local dancehall. Finding herself pregnant after a one-night stand and abandoned by the father, Iris finally decides the time has come to get even and she begins to plot her revenge.

Director

Aki Kaurismäki Photo
Aki Kaurismäki

Top cast

Pope John Paul II Photo
Pope John Paul II as Self
Silu Seppälä Photo
Silu Seppälä as Iris Rukka's brother
Marja Packalén Photo
Marja Packalén as The doctor
Richard Reitinger Photo
Richard Reitinger as Man in the bar
720p.BluRay
628.4 MB
1280*694
Finnish 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 8 min
Seeds 12

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by bandw 7 / 10

A simple story that kept me watching

This is a downbeat story of a young woman, Iris, who works on an assembly line in a match stick factory in Finland. Iris' life would give testament to the truth of Thoreau's quote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." She comes home from her tedious job to a dismal apartment that she shares with her mother and stepfather--both major losers. They take what little money Iris earns and berate her if she spends on herself.While Iris is not unattractive, she presents such a sullen and drab appearance that she is ignored at community dances, until she buys a new red dress when she finally attracts the attention of a man. But don't plan on a happy ending to that one. Years of suppressed resentment can provoke dramatic acts of revenge.At a little over an hour this movie could have played as an episode on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Except it has better production values and acting that most shows on that program. I thought the humorous twist in the final scene was particularly in the style of Hitchcock.I enjoyed the establishing shots in the match factory. I have never given much thought about the process of creating match sticks and found the presentation of that interesting. So much complexity and machinery involved in producing such a simple product.
Reviewed by trilobee 9 / 10

Life will never seem as bad again

Kaurismaki is nothing if not an efficient director. The stylistic elements of 'The Match Factory Girl' are distilled, like the vodka that is drunk throughout, to produce an intense and disturbing effect. Much of the action goes on outside the characteristically static camera frame, and Kati Outinen's deadpan face conveys a correspondingly broad range of expressions (she is excellent at signalling imminent vomiting without appearing to twitch a muscle). It's a film that moves on and out with the minimum of movement and dialogue, and its downwards pull is mesmerising. It's also bitterly funny. Late in the film the main character, Iris, approaches the shop counter and asks for a bottle of rat poison, to which the reply is: 'Small or large?'I was fairly low when I saw this film. I came out feeling marvellous. Another triumph for the relief to be found in misery, a paradox which Kaurismaki cheerfully exploits in his dark, tragic & hilarious films.
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