Meanwhile

That night Jeff was to be found browsing the Internet. He was performing searches of the only Finnish film director he knew of, an Aki Kaurismaki, so as to expose himself to his work.

His true reason for these searches went somewhat beyond a mere desire to see the movies of a great director, however; he knew that of the trio that he had become so preoccupied with, of them, Marie was originally from Finland and had grew up there. By researching and watching these films, he hoped by extension to find a connection, a foothold, some common ground and understanding within the group... even if the concept was ridiculous.

Reading the descriptions and reviews on the internet movie database, he actually did become attracted to the movies themselves, relating strongly to the repeated appearances of seemingly sad, lost, lonely souls, as himself.

Also encouraging were the reviewers expressing what a realistic portrayal the films gave of life in Finland and the general mentality and mindset of the Finns themselves, their no nonsense approach to things, the ability to have comfortable silences amongst each other and such, and a strong sense and desire to assert their own identity over their personal space.

He decided to order the "workers trilogy" or else what some others had labeled as the "losers trilogy", Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match Factory Girl.