Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

lonely-tty This is a messed up film. Lilya is already living in poverty but when her mom left, her aunt who takes care of her downgraded her house to even smaller house. Lilya became a hooker to support herself because her mom severed all ties with her. Lilya is then tricked into prostitution. Now, her only friend felt betrayed and killed himself. Lilya got depressed sex after sex and she dreamt of her friend telling to not give up. She managed to escaped but still gave up in the end because she couldn't take it anymore. Sometimes, dying is actually better than living.

tapio_hietamaki This movie suggests that life is dreary, boring and depressing in the general area of ex-USSR countries, and in the winter things go from bad to worse. The people are mean, poor drunkards, the scenery consists of gray concrete blocks and there is nothing to do but smell glue. Well, I'm from Finland, and I've visited Estonia, Ukraine and Russia and I have to say that the movie does its portrayal jokingly and lovingly. Obviously there are all kinds of depressing situations all over the world and I don't see that the movie is singling out this area. What it is saying is that these hellish circumstances are reality for some, that there exists darkness and filth in the world, and it is easy to forget, or ignore, living in a first-world apartment complex. It also shows how thin the line between 'first-world' and 'ghetto' can be.It's a tragic story of a girl, an individual, but into her story there is loaded a lot of social commentary. It is difficult to discuss the movie without delving into its agenda, its subject, its political themes. It's a movie about human trafficking, a touchy subject and a touching one, but where Liam Neeson's 'Taken' uses that backdrop to show us a fast-paced action thriller, Lukas Moodysson's 'Lilja 4-Ever' knows how difficult saving people truly is and how deep-rooted the issues here are.

Nicole C This film is both terrible and terrifying because it shows an accurate depiction of events in the real world that likely happen everyday without our knowledge of it. Moodysson does an incredible job at directing this film to create a sense of universality. This could be happening to everyone and anyone; perhaps your neighbour. your relative, or your classmate, who knows.The excellent cinematography helps in creating this universal sense, as during the montage of 'customers' we only see their faces, and not Lilja's. This is a very unique stance, and the fact that we do not see Lilja generalizes the scene to the people of the public, showing that these customers could be on top of anybody, even you. I find this montage to be very powerful because we as the audience are forced to be in this position, and so in a sense it is us that this is being done to, making us identify with the ones being trafficked.Oksana as Lilja does a wonderful job at showcasing her character's stubborn personality as well as initial innocence and naivety of the world she lives in. Her expressions, and especially her eyes are very powerful at conveying emotions. Lilja is forced to grow up in a short amount of time, and whenever one of her fantasies seem to becoming true, it gets crushed, and Oksana shows these transformations superbly. Artyom as Volodya also does a great job, and the young innocence yet wisdom his character shows is heartbreaking. As well, the strong bond between both their characters can be felt throughout the film.Additionally, the music accompaniment in the film is quite interesting. There are a lot of instances in which there is loud heavy metal music enveloping the scene. I take these scenes as ones which show Lilja's internal emotional turmoil, and though she may not necessarily seem conflicted, her behaviour may suggest otherwise. The best example would be in the ending scene when our auditory systems are hijacked by heavy metal, and the music can be seen as representing both her anger and frustration at her life situation or we as the spectator's inability to do anything.Overall, a terrifyingly realistic depiction of one case in the sex trafficking industry with universal implications created through impeccable cinematography, acting and directing.Read more movie reviews at: champioangels.wordpress.com

Maz Murdoch (asda-man) Those who know me well will know that depressing cinema is my kind of thing. Any film that can take you on a powerful and draining experience is a film well worth seeing in my book, so when I heard about how gruelling Lukas Moodysson's third feature, Lilya 4-Ever, was I just had to seek it out. Whilst I can understand why most people would find it completely bemusing as to why someone would want to watch a film where the protagonist is put through hell, this is the kind of film I really admire when done right. Lilya 4-Ever is done right, and whilst it's by no means an easy watch, it's an important one which everyone should make time to see.The film opens to Rammstein, a heavy metal German rock band used more recently in Lars von Trier's latest near-masterpiece, Nymphomaniac. They play over a horrendous and ominous image of our hero, Lilya, running from something and covered in bruises. The entire film is a flashback which leads up to this emotive image, and it's an image which assured me that this was going to be a film to remember.Lilya 4-Ever opens with a sense of hope and optimism with Lilya looking forward to going to start a new life in America and leaving her Russian slum. However, this is quickly crushed within the first 10 minutes. Her mother abandons her and leaves her at the mercy of her hard-hearted Aunt who offers as little support as possible. Things go from bad to worse and eventually end up at the worst. Lukas does a wonderful job at immersing the audience in the world of Lilya. The raw hand-held directing is reminiscent of our own cuddly pessimist, Lars Von Trier.In fact, Lilya 4-Ever would've made a welcome replacement for The Idiots in Lars' golden hearts trilogy. The film is very much like Dancer in the Dark and Breaking the Waves in that it takes a likable and generally kind-hearted female and then the world mercilessly rips her apart. It's about as far away from Hollywood as you can get, but unfortunately this is the world we're living in. Someone, somewhere in the world is having a life like Lilya and Moodysson does a damn convincing job at portraying this.The authenticity of the film isn't least helped by 15 year-old Oksana Akinshina's stellar performance. I believed her in every frame and sometimes she just broke my heart. It was so nice to see her in those rare moments where she's smiling and laughing, and trying to make the most out of her dreadful situation. The moments when she's at her lowest are the most should-crushing, and Oksana often conveys more emotion in just one heart-breaking expression than most actors manage to do in a career.Lilya 4-Ever is an experience that is hard to forget. It didn't quite make me cry, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I welled up in more than one place. What makes the film even more crushing to watch is that you know that it's completely true and that this stuff has happened and is happening to people across the world. It's not a film you instantly forget the next day, and to me that's the mark of a truly great film. The ending is beautifully done and is powerful enough to move mountains. As I said before, Lilya isn't an easy film to watch, but very much like the equally distressing 12 Years a Slave, it has such an important message that it needs to be seen by everyone.