The Match Factory Girl is a 1990 Finnish-Swedish film edited, written, co-produced, and directed by Aki Kaurismäki, the final installment of his Proletariat Trilogy, after his Shadows in Paradise and Ariel. It follows Iris, a young, plain-looking factory worker living a lonely, impoverished and uneventful life in late 1980s Finland. Iris is played by Kati Outinen, who had appeared in a number of other Kaurismäki films.

Plot

Iris is a rather plain woman who lives with and helps support her mother and stepfather. She has a hard time attracting men, but one evening at the local dance club she meets Aarne, who thinks she's a prostitute, although Iris does not realize that. They spend the night together, and Aarne leaves the next morning before Iris awakes. Iris arranges for a second date with Aarne, and introduces him to her parents. During the date, Aarne harshly informs her that he does not desire her affection, and she leaves crying. Iris later discovers that she is pregnant, and writes to Aarne a letter asking him to raise the child with her. She receives a letter back simply stating "Get rid of the brat," along with a check for 10,000 marks. Iris becomes distraught and goes outside, leaving the letter and check on the table, where her mother finds them. While wandering around upset, Iris is hit by a car and she has a miscarriage. Her stepfather visits Iris in the hospital and tells her she must move out of the apartment, because she has disappointed her mother.