IMDb > Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö (1990)

Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö (1990) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   1,930 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki (writer)

Contact:

View company contact information for The Match Factory Girl on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

6 November 1992 (USA) more

Genre:

Drama | Comedy more

Plot:

Iris has a dead-end job in a match-factory, lives with her dour and forbidding parents, and her social life is a disaster... more | add synopsis

Awards:

6 wins & 1 nomination more

NewsDesk:
(2 articles)

Shadows In Paradise Ariel The Match Factory Girl
 (From The AV Club. 28 October 2008, 9:01 PM, PDT)

On DVD: Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy, "Shadow"
 (From IFC. 23 September 2008, 11:36 AM, PDT)

User Comments:

A simple, unhurried, beautiful, minimalist modern fable more (20 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Kati Outinen ... Iiris
Elina Salo ... Mother
Esko Nikkari ... Stepfather
Vesa Vierikko ... Aarne
Reijo Taipale ... The singer
Silu Seppälä ... Iiris' brother
Outi Mäenpää ... Iiris' co-worker
Marja Packalén ... The doctor
Richard Reitinger ... Man in the bar
Helka Viljanen ... Office employee (as Helga Viljanen)
Kurt Siilas ... Policeman
Ismo Keinänen ... Policeman
Klaus Heydemann ... Worker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erkki Friman ... Member of dance band
Tapani Ikonen ... Member of dance band
Jari Lappalainen ... Member of dance band
Lasse Luoto ... Member of dance band
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Flickan från tändsticksfabriken (Sweden)
The Match Factory Girl (USA)
more

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

Finland | Sweden

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Helsinki, Finland

Company:

Esselte Video more


Fun Stuff

Quotes:

[first lines]
Iiris: Half pint, please!
more

Movie Connections:

Features Room Service (1938) more

Soundtrack:

Kolme kitaraa more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful.
A simple, unhurried, beautiful, minimalist modern fable, 5 December 2008
7/10
Author: chaos-rampant from Greece

With THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL Kaurismaki might not tread new ground but instead perfects the stylistic hallmarks that marked him apart from most other directors of his generation. His work is that of a sculptor, hacking away at all the cinematic fat, shaping form by removing that which is not necessary. His movies as an extension of his sculptory approach attain an almost hypnotic quality - or perhaps boring uneventfulness for others. He's not at all trying to hit emotionally draining highs and lows but build a rhythmic lull, a soothing pace created of flows and ebbs that move with imperceptible change. As a result, his movies never hurry to get anywhere fast and when they get there not a whole lot happens. It's all about appreciating how they got there and the stylistic subtleties of that journey.

THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL finds Kaurismaki shunning dialogue even more than previous efforts, if that's even possible without making a modern silent picture. Which it pretty much is. The entirety of the dialogue doesn't amount to more than 1 minute and that too is used more as a form of punctuation to the images - he could easily have done the movie completely without dialogues if he so wanted. The story could have been summed up in a 20 minute short yet Kaurismaki stretches it to 65 minutes, a meagre duration by most people's standards, which here feels like a good 90 minutes.

Although the material is perhaps the most bleak and brooding he had done at that point in his career since his debut CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, it is spiced up by moments of his trademark glacial humour. A certain scene in bar involving a drunk, sleazy patron and rat poison had me laughing out loud, which is a minor success for a film of this kind. The most dramatic scenes are delivered with that same kind of deadpan unaffection that immediately acquires a serio-comic air for that reason.

Although it lacks the playfulness of its predecessor (ARIEL), this is still Kaurismaki in top visual form. He has a way with images and how he orchestrates them that is quite unparalleled at his level. Sure he's not a director of epic works and spectacle but he's carved a niche for himself over the years that has his name and particular sensibilities written all over it and he's been content to work within it. If you like his style, this is a safebet. If you're a newcomer I'd suggest starting with something like ARIEL.

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