Films › Aki Kaurismäki

The Match Factory Girl (1990)

Film

DirectorAki Kaurismäki

Meta takes2

Figures

Form & technique

The film's narrative of Iris's total social abandonment
The opening sequence detailing the industrial production of matchsticks

Tropes

Iris's blank, non-expressive face → Affective Contagion
The repetitive, mechanical actions of Iris at work and at home
Iris's act of poisoning her abusers with rat poison → The Abject Aesthetic
The vibrant, colorful floral dress Iris buys and wears
The stark contrast between bleak reality and the sentimental pop songs on the radio
The pervasive silence and extremely sparse dialogue

Films most connected to The Match Factory Girl

District 9 (2009) — via The Abject Aesthetic
Live Flesh (1997) — via The Abject Aesthetic
Blue Velvet (1986) — via The Abject Aesthetic
The Skin I Live In (2011) — via The Abject Aesthetic
Oasis (2002) — via The Abject Aesthetic
Late Autumn (2010) — via Affective Contagion
Joker (2019) — via Affective Contagion
Amores Perros (2000) — via Affective Contagion