La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes

Art house fare that's challenging but also rewarding, with the oblique early going giving way to an increasingly clear picture as the two orphaned youngsters try and come to terms with the world and their dark past.

C'est une uvre immensément maîtrisée sur la folie des hommes et l'émancipation d'une jeune fille.

... takes time to explore the ways in which our parents' education leaves us marked for life. [Full review in Spanish]

Ironically, the film's construction is as circular as the insular logic it so heinously condemns: a work imposed on its audience solely because its creator wills it to be so, and his Word, as scripture, is total, complete, and final.

Thanks to [Simon] Lavoie's confident direction, Matches builds hope for the continued strength and creativity of Québécois horror cinema, refreshed by the raw input of genre outsiders.

At times animalistic, at times tender and ethereal, [Marine Johnson is] whatever the role requires - a character trying to understand herself and the world around her with severely limited knowledge and resources.