The Match Factory Girl

1990, Comedy/Drama, 1h 10m

3 Reviews 1,000+ Ratings

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The Match Factory Girl Photos

At center: Kati Outinen in Aki Kaurismäki's THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL.

Kati Outinen in Aki Kaurismäki's THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL.

View All Photos (17)

Movie Info

Iris (Kati Outinen) has a soul-deadening job as a quality-control worker watching boxes of matches go by on an assembly line all day. At night, she eats silently with her dour mother (Elina Salo) and stepfather (Esko Nikkari). One weekend, wearing her new red dress at a local dance, she ends up going home with Aarne (Vesa Vierikko), whom she mistakenly believes is her new boyfriend. When she discovers that she's pregnant, years of pent-up rage explode in a shocking outburst.

Genre:

comedy, drama
Original Language:

Finnish
Director:

Aki Kaurismäki
Producer:

Aki Kaurismäki
Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki
Release Date (Theaters):

Nov 6, 1992 wide
Release Date (Streaming):

Sep 23, 2008
Runtime:

1h 10m
Production Co:

Finnkino Oy, Svenska Filminstitutet, Esselte Video, Villealfa Filmproduction Oy
Sound Mix:

Mono

Cast & Crew

Kati Outinen
Iris

Elina Salo
Mother

Esko Nikkari
Stepfather

Vesa Vierikko
Aarne

Reijo Taipale
The Singer

Silu Seppälä
Iiris' brother

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for The Match Factory Girl

All Critics (3) | Fresh (3)

Quote not available.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
Kati Outinen proves herself the divine muse of minimalism, conveying more emotion with her stony facial expressions than a whole marquee's worth of shrill starlets could manage.

October 16, 2007 | Full Review…

Anton Bitel
Eye for Film
Quote not available.

July 6, 2005 | Rating: 5/5

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Quote not available.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
Kati Outinen proves herself the divine muse of minimalism, conveying more emotion with her stony facial expressions than a whole marquee's worth of shrill starlets could manage.

October 16, 2007 | Full Review…

Anton Bitel
Eye for Film
Quote not available.

July 6, 2005 | Rating: 5/5

Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

View All Critic Reviews (3)

Audience Reviews for The Match Factory Girl

May 12, 2010

In "The Match Factory Girl," Iris(Kari Outinen) works all day in a factory and comes home at night to tend to her parents(Elina Salo & Esko Nikkari) in a cramped apartment. So, she figures she deserves a little fun in return but nobody takes notice of her at a dance. Her parents react in shock when she has the nerve to buy a new dress with her own money and demand she return it. She does not. In fact, Iris wears it to a bar where she winds up meeting the wealthy Aarne(Vesa Vierikko) and they spend the night together. "The Match Factory Girl" is proof that Aki Kaurismaki does not make the same movie over and over again, as this is more dead serious than deadpan. There is very little humor and minimal dialogue which makes it perfect for watching on a bus. Even the television news is pessimistic, full of death and destruction(pretty much everything except for the Bay Area Earthquake) with a little resistance thrown in. Even Iris' job at a factory that makes matchsticks which are primarily used in smoking cigarettes has ominous overtones. Iris is too good of a person for such a cruel world, serving others and expecting the best from the world in return, and eventually suffers for it, before the movie takes a huge risk in removing any sympathy from her.

Walter M Super Reviewer
Aug 27, 2008

Kaurismaki's perfection of the 90's.Outinen is a goddess,convincing me that acting is silence,a soundproof collision merged into shattering pieces.Those pieces glued in the trembling-vengeful heart of Iris.Aye,and hard laboring.

Dimitris S Super Reviewer