Iris is a shy young woman who leads a terribly dull life working at a match factory and living with her neglectful parents. She dreams of finding love at the local dance hall. But when Iris discovers she is pregnant after a one-night stand, years of pent-up rage explode in a shocking outburst.

The final part of his Proletariat Trilogy, The Match Factory Girl finds Aki Kaurismäki at his most stripped back. One of his greatest films, the bleak social realism soon takes a turn into viciously dark comedy, as Kati Outinen’s downtrodden protagonist wreaks revenge on her relentless persecutors.