Seattle’s Grand Illusion Theater is one of only four theaters in the country showing a complete Aki Kaurismaki retrospective. I’ve written about Kaurismaki before; I’ll just add that tonight’s entry, Match Factory Girl from 1989, is a well-nigh perfect film. Minimal, deadpan, it’s about a young woman (Kaurismaki regular Kati Outinen) who’s abused by her parents and lover, and takes appropriate revenge. Every shot is perfectly framed, and every shot is a surprise. The icy lighting is a wonder to behold. And the film somehow combines world-weary fatalism with (dare I call it?) a sense of justice, and Fassbinderian melodrama with Bressonian intensity. All this, and the film is modest and unpretentious as well. I’d seen Match Factory Girl before, but seeing it again reminded me of why I love Aki Kaurismaki. (And it’s purely as a compliment that I named my dog after him).
Aki Kaurismaki
Seattle’s Grand Illusion Theater is one of only four theaters in the country showing a complete Aki Kaurismaki retrospective. I’ve written about Kaurismaki before; I’ll just add that tonight’s entry, Match Factory Girl from 1989, is a well-nigh perfect film. Minimal, deadpan, it’s about a young woman (Kaurismaki regular Kati Outinen) who’s abused by her parents and lover, and takes appropriate revenge. Every shot is perfectly framed, and every shot is a surprise. The icy lighting is a wonder to behold. And the film somehow combines world-weary fatalism with (dare I call it?) a sense of justice, and Fassbinderian melodrama with Bressonian intensity. All this, and the film is modest and unpretentious as well. I’d seen Match Factory Girl before, but seeing it again reminded me of why I love Aki Kaurismaki. (And it’s purely as a compliment that I named my dog after him).