Lilya 4-Ever (2002)

Sixteen-year-old Lilja and her only friend, the young boy Volodja, live in Russia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej, who is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.

Director:

Lukas Moodysson

Writer:

Lukas Moodysson

Stars:

Oksana Akinshina, Artyom Bogucharskiy, Pavel Ponomaryov

12 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oksana Akinshina	...	Lilja (as Oksana Akinsjina)
Artyom Bogucharskiy	...	Volodya (as Artiom Bogutjarskij)
Lyubov Agapova	...	Lilja's Mother (as Ljubov Agapova)
Liliya Shinkaryova	...	Aunt Anna (as Lilija Sjinkarjova)
Elina Benenson	...	Natasha
Pavel Ponomaryov	...	Andrei (as Pavel Ponomarjov)
Tomasz Neuman	...	Witek (as Tomas Neumann)
Anastasiya Bedredinova	...	Neighbor (as Anastasia Bedredinova)
Tõnu Kark	...	Sergei
Nikolai Bentsler	...	Natasha's Boyfriend (as Nikolaj Bentsler)
Aleksander Dorosjkevitch	...	Friend #1 (as Aleksandr Dorosjkevitj)
Yevgeni Gurov	...	Friend #2 (as Jevgenij Gurov)
Aleksandr Sokolenko	...	Friend #3
Margo Kostelina	...	Cashier #1
Veronika Kovtun	...	Cashier #2

Storyline

While waiting for her mothers reply to take her to the USA, Lilya idles the time away smoking, drinking and having fun with her, too, outcast friend Volodya. In time, the chance of a new life becomes non-existent; her life is going nowhere. Meeting a young man, she then finds a plane ticket in her hand and a new life in Sweden: a job, an apartment and prospects. All is not what it seems. There shall be work, there shall be housing and there shall be no escape. This is the stark, frank and disturbing vision of the life of a young victim of the underground sex trade and in all its tone of realism of abject poverty, despicable actions and of wanting to show that dreaming of a better life is not a crime but that life can shatter the illusion of a happy ending.

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Plot Keywords:

sex trade | teenage prostitution | human trafficking | sexual abuse | poverty | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, a rape scene, drug use and language

Details

Country:

Sweden Denmark

Language:

Russian Swedish English Polish

Release Date:

23 August 2002 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Lilya 4-Ever

Filming Locations:

Film i Väst, Nohab Industrial Estate, Trollhättan, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$33,731, 20 April 2003

Gross USA:

$184,023

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,007,747

Company Credits

Production Co:

Memfis Film, Det Danske Filminstitut, Film i Väst

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The town in which Lilja lives is in real life called Paldiski and is located in Estonia, not far from the capital Tallinn. The submarine base has now been destroyed. Some scenes are indeed shot in Paldiski, but many in Tallinn, in the districts of Kopli and Lasnamäe.

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Quotes

Lilja: Do you want to buy anything?
Woman at yard sale: There's nothing to buy here!

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Connections

Referenced in A Hole in My Heart (2004)

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Soundtracks

I Smell of You
Written by Magnus Dahlberg, Linus Gierta (as Linus Eriksson), Jocke Heidvall, Erik Fhölenhag (as Erik Holmquist), Jesper Kurlandsky, Denise Östholm
Performed by Blanka
With permission from Blanka

User Reviews

Angels

Director Lukas Moodysson has achieved a film that is so moving that it is hard to forget it after leaving the theater. Images come back into one's mind about this story about this girl. The tragedy of her life is something to be shocked and alarmed.

To think there are out there, in the so-called civilized world, people that take advantage of girls like Lilja is mind boggling. Lilja's mother has to be one of the worst monsters ever presented in a film. This woman abandons her 16 year old daughter because she has found a meal ticket with a man that will probably end up leaving her as well.

Lilja is beautifully portrayed by Oksana Akinshina. The actress and her character disappear in front of your eyes. The story is very true as thousands of naive girls are exported from what it was the old Soviet Union to other countries in order to force them into prostitution. This story is constantly in the news, yet more and more young girls are duped into going abroad with the promise of highly paid jobs that exist only for the people who exploit them.

Her only friend is Volodya, also a very sad boy who is thrown out of his own house by an abusive father. Volodya and Lilja form a bond as they cling to one another. The little boy is street wise; he knows the fate that awaits Lilja in Sweden. Their friendship is the only thing they both have.

The sad part of the film is the realization that so called "normal" and perfectly "respectful" people are the same ones that brutalize these children. They use Lilja to satisfy their sexual appetites, then discard her like yesterday's trash. To know that there are people like that in our society is a very sad commentary about our world.

Contrary to what many people have commented about the film, I thought that in spite of the tragedy of Lilja's and Volodya's lives, it had a very positive ending because both are free to run around in a better place together, which is not a luxury most of us have on our time in this planet.

Mr. Moodysson gives us a film that will shock; he dares to go where others wouldn't. A job well done..