THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL directed by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland, 1990)
This movie is a masterpiece of minimalist drama; a story of unrelenting yet strangely compelling bleakness. I first saw it on its original release and second time around it has lost none of its impact.
In just over one hour every detail matters and words are practically redundant. For the first fifteen minutes there is no dialogue whatsoever yet we learn all there is to know about Iris (played by Kati Outinen).
She works on a production line of a dismal match factory straightening labels on the packs as though part of the machinery. Her sullen expression remains unchanged even when her shift ends.
It is soon apparent that her life beyond the factory gates offers little in the way of relief. Her humdrum chores continue when she returns home as we see her cooking and ironing while her parents slob around chain-smoking and slumped in front of the TV.
The mother stealing meat off her daughter’s plate is a small gesture that in another context might be comical. Here it is just another example of Iris’ fate as the poor, put upon waif with no friends and no obvious means of escape from her dead-end existence. Continue reading
