The third installment of Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy, after "Varjoja paratiisissa" (Shadows in Paradise (1986)) and Ariel (1988). Over 30 years later, "Kuolleet lehdet" (Fallen Leaves (2023)) became the fourth one in the "trilogy."
Though not shown on screen, the film Iris sees at the movies is The Marx Brothers's Room Service (1938).
Although being in nearly every scene, the protagonist does not speak until the 25-minute mark in the film.
The film's story is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Little Match Girl, as well as Finnish author Anni Swan's 1916 youth novel "Iris rukka." Iris' name is thus a reference to the novel and a play on words, as the novel's title means "poor Iris."
In August 2011, Roger Ebert added the film to his list of Great Movies. He wrote that he "watched hypnotically. Few films are ever this unremittingly unyielding... What made it more mesmerizing is that it's all on the same tonal level: Iris passively endures a series of humiliations, cruelties and dismissals."
Aki Kaurismäki: [short dialogues] Most of the film is not silent, just dialog-free, emphasizing the tensions within the spoken scenes.