The Match Factory Girl Calamari Union

Kaurism‰ki combines the sober gravity of Robert Bresson with a deadpan comedic style in these films. A factory worker who is mistreated in nearly every aspect of her life plots her revenge in an acclaimed, Bresson-influenced masterpiece, The Match Factory Girl (1989; 70 mins).

Eighteen men—all but one of whom are named Frank—try to traverse Helsinki while the film references fly fast and furious in Calamari Union (1984; 80 mins.), a dry spoof of urban gang movies.

The short Thru the Wire (1986; 6 mins.) redoes Bresson's A Man Escaped as a satire of America.