Review of The Match Factory Girl (1990) by Lori B — 02 Nov 2013

This is the second Ari Kaurismäki film I've seen, the first being the delightful Le Havre. I don't think it's possible to make two movies that are more different! The Match Factory Girl is a dreary little film (at only 68 minutes, it is barely a feature). But inside Iiris's painful story, there are also unexpected bits of color and even some sly humor. Certainly by the end of the film, we not only no longer feel sorry for Iiris, we may even find ourselves cheering for her.

When I first watched it, I had a hard time defining my feelings about it, but I know I re-watched the last couple of minutes several times, at least in part because I was sorry to see it end.