Lilya 4-Ever (Lilja 4-ever)

Lilya 4-Ever (Lilja 4-ever) (2002)

  • 87% of critics liked it
    (67 reviews)

  • 90% of users liked it
    (12,866 ratings)

A teenager abandoned by her family slips into a downward spiral of sex and degradation in this frank drama from Sweden. Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) is a 16-year-old girl growing up in poverty in the former Soviet Union. Lilya's mother (Lyubov Agapova) is moving to the United States with her new… More

R,
Directed By
Written By
Lukas Moodysson
Genres
Art House & International, Drama
In Theaters
Jan 15, 2003 Wide
Newmarket Films

Critic Reviews

  • Ty Burr, Boston Globe

    [Moodysson] dives into the soul of a 16-year-old Estonian girl and tears you apart.

  • Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

    Worth every uncomfortable minute.

  • Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    A wrenching feel-bad movie graced by a luminous central performance.

  • Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

    It tells a heartbreaking story, one of those tales that need to be told and about which only pain can be felt.

  • Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic

    It is Akinshina's presence and performance that make the pedestrian story heart-wrenching.

Read all 14 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Emil K


    I have always felt that director Lukas Moodysson has been over-hyped as a filmmaker and Lilja 4-ever is good example of that. While this clearly is supposed to be important film about sex trade it certainly goes into wrong direction just vomiting it's material on viewer.… More

  • Carlos M


    This is a disturbing and quite depressive film that should make us all conscious of such a tragic real subject. An immensely sad story that reaches pure poetry in a heart-wrenching final scene.

  • Anthony L


    Astonishing, depressing, bleak, disturbing, Mind blowing, Breathtaking, an absolute masterpiece! What more could you ask for from one of the world?s best directors?

  • Luke B


    Kicking off with some Rammstein, Lilya 4-Ever demands your attention before settling down. It doesn't rain, it pisses it down in Lilya 4-Ever. A dark and depressing drama set in Eastern Europe. Lilya is a young girl with dreams of escaping her impoverished lifestyle. She believes… More

  • Jani H


    A masterpiece made by a talented swedish director. If this movie doesn't get some emotions from you, you probably have a heart of stone... An amateur cast provides nothing less than an all-star performance.

Read all 15 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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