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

Featured Audience Ratings

• 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
  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 that she is moving to America with her mother and her new boyfriend. Instead she is abandoned and soon finds life to be dark and cruel. Everybody takes advantage of her, from her best friend to her own auntie. Lilya becomes life's punching bag. It soon makes her bitter and prefers hope over logic. She ignores the warnings of the only other decent character in the story. A young boy who tries to make her question the promises others make. Certainly not empowering, nor is it enjoyable. What Lilya 4-Ever does offer, is an unsentimental portrayal of betrayal. A beautiful look at some very ugly truths.

• 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.

• Drew S

  
  Ah, talk about a film that rips out your heart and stomps on it a few hundred times for good measure...

• Mike S

  
  Good, but unfortunately very depressing.

• Gordon A

  
  Devastating but thoroughly gripping

• Antony S

  
  Astonishing. Hard to decide if this is unbearably sad or horrificly disturbing. Lilya-4-Ever introduces us to a young, isolated girl living in the Eastern bloc, who's life starts off unsatisfactory and gets increasingly appalling. The film offers up precious little hope, as… More
  Astonishing. Hard to decide if this is unbearably sad or horrificly disturbing. Lilya-4-Ever introduces us to a young, isolated girl living in the Eastern bloc, who's life starts off unsatisfactory and gets increasingly appalling. The film offers up precious little hope, as exemplified by Lilya's destruction of an angel painting that she constantly gazes at throughout the story. Any attempts at happiness actually land in her in worse trouble; her one girlfriend leads her into whoring as a means of income, another friendship becomes touched by tragedy, and her attempt at love and escape results in a far worse predicament. The cinematography is crushingly bleak, and only offers vitality when Lilya and Volodya are high on glue, their single social freedom. A devastating experience, possibly greater than that of the same year's The Pianist.

• Mark A

  
  What a sad film, full of despair. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for Lilya, they did. Rejected by her mother, abandoned by the aunt who was supposed to take care of her, vilified by her neighbors, she fell victim to the first person to show her any kindness.… More
  What a sad film, full of despair. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for Lilya, they did. Rejected by her mother, abandoned by the aunt who was supposed to take care of her, vilified by her neighbors, she fell victim to the first person to show her any kindness. Unfortunately he turned out to be nothing more than a scout for a white slavery operation. What little self-esteem she might have had was stripped from her. Her naivete put her in a prison from which there was no escape and the predator who controlled her prison took advantage of her ignorance to isolate her from seeking help from anyone who could have ended her hell. Certainly not recommended for anyone with a heart. Where's my Prozac?

• Panta O

  
  This is third film of swedish director Lukas Moodysson and is completely different from the happy ones he made previosly. It is hard to watch but you do not want to miss a moment of it. Wonderful acting, perfect screenplay for a crafty director.

• Ed Fucking H

  
  In short, one of the most thourughly upsetting movies I've ever seen. Every time you think it can't get any worse it does. Definently not for everyone but if you like films that are sad and gritty this is where it's at.

• Lauren D

  
  Was awesome. I can't believe Oksana Akinshine was only 14/15! Amazing performance. I rarely actually sympathize with, you know, anyone, so she must've been good. I also rarely praise female performances, or 'kids' performances. With the exception of Rammstein, I… More
  Was awesome. I can't believe Oksana Akinshine was only 14/15! Amazing performance. I rarely actually sympathize with, you know, anyone, so she must've been good. I also rarely praise female performances, or 'kids' performances. With the exception of Rammstein, I was pretty impressed with the music too (the Rammstein song didn't seem to fit).

• Daisy M

  
  The story about the Russian 16 year old Lilya was so touching. Abandoned by her mother who wanted to try a better life in the USA, Lilya was left completely alone with no relatives around, just a mean aunt. Soon she found a new friend, a homeless young boy called Volodja and they… More
  The story about the Russian 16 year old Lilya was so touching. Abandoned by her mother who wanted to try a better life in the USA, Lilya was left completely alone with no relatives around, just a mean aunt. Soon she found a new friend, a homeless young boy called Volodja and they became very close. With absolutely no money she decided to prostitute.It was clearly that she sold her body in order to avoid starving, and that she was tricked into going to Sweden to have a better life. Once there it showed how brutal she was treated, sent from one man to another, that was really disgusting. Oksana Akinshina portraying Lilya was talented and beautiful, who on her own made the movie worth watching. In the end, I felt happy that she'd killed herself to escape the life she was having. The director, Lukas Moodysson used angel wings to show they were in heaven and that they were happy and free. Overall a great film, even that the theme seemed dark and depressing

• Timothy O

  
  I love the Russian language. It was fun to hear it in a conversational way. But what really made this film amazing was Oksana Akinshina. She's an absolute beauty. I hope she learns English and comes to America. The film is gritty, and the rape scenes are a bit (no a lot)… More
  I love the Russian language. It was fun to hear it in a conversational way. But what really made this film amazing was Oksana Akinshina. She's an absolute beauty. I hope she learns English and comes to America. The film is gritty, and the rape scenes are a bit (no a lot) difficult to take. It was, however, an amazing story to watch. Just wish I understood Russian so I could eschew the subtittles.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings