Lilja 4-ever

Critics Consensus

A tragic, hard-hitting story about a teenager trapped in a life of prostitution.

Movie Info

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 boyfriend, and Lilya has been told she'll be coming with them. However, at the last minute Lilya is informed she'll be staying behind with her aunt Anna (Liliya Shinkaryova), and she'll be joining her mother later on. Anna immediately takes over the apartment Lilya shared with her mother, and moves her niece into a much smaller (and dirtier) flat several blocks away. For the most part left on her own, Lilya spends much of her time with her best friend, Natasha (Elina Benenson), and comes to the rescue of Volodya (Artiom Bogucharski), a suicidal 14-year-old boy who has been thrown out of his home and has a serious problem with alcohol and drugs. One night at a nightclub, Natasha meets a man who is willing to pay her for sex; when her father finds the money, Natasha claims it belongs to Lilya, and the story soon spreads that Lilya is a prostitute. When Lilya learns that her mother has no intention of bringing her to the United States, she becomes despondent and begins sleeping with men for money. Not long after taking up the sex trade she meets Andrei (Pavel Ponomaryov), who promises her a better and easier life if she'll come to Sweden with him. However, Lilya learns the hard way that there's no truth in Andrei's words as she is subjected to the lowest and most degrading levels of the sex-for-hire business.

Rating:

R (for strong sexual content, a rape scene, drug use and language)
Genre:

Art House & International, Drama
Directed By:

Lukas Moodysson
Written By:

Lukas Moodysson
In Theaters:

Jan 15, 2003 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

May 17, 2005
Runtime:

109 minutes
Studio:

Newmarket Films

Cast

Artyom Bogucharsky
as Volodya

Elina Benenson
as Natasha

Artiom Bogucharski
as Volodya

Liliya Shinkaryova
as Aunt Anna

Lyubov Agapova
as Lilja's mother

Pavel Ponomaryov
as Andrei

Oksana Akinshina
as Lilja

Tomas Neumann
as Witek

Tonu Kark
as Sergei

Anastasia Bedredinova
as Neighbor

Nikolai Bentsler
as Natasha's Boyfriend

View All

Critic Reviews for Lilja 4-ever

All Critics (69) | Top Critics (28) | DVD (3)

After making such a brilliant splash with his first two films -- Show Me Love and Together -- the Swedish director Lukas Moodysson seems to dry up in Lilya 4-ever.

Dec 6, 2018 | Full Review…

James Christopher
Times (UK)
Top Critic
The social questions it raises are real enough; its sentimentality is what makes one doubt Moodysson is Ingmar Bergman's heir. Not by a long sob.

Jan 10, 2018 | Full Review…

Alexander Walker
London Evening Standard
Top Critic
[Moodysson] dives into the soul of a 16-year-old Estonian girl and tears you apart.

Jul 25, 2003 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Ty Burr
Boston Globe
Top Critic
A wrenching feel-bad movie graced by a luminous central performance.

Jun 27, 2003 | Rating: B

Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic
It tells a heartbreaking story, one of those tales that need to be told and about which only pain can be felt.

Jun 20, 2003 | Rating: B

Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic
It is Akinshina's presence and performance that make the pedestrian story heart-wrenching.

May 28, 2003

Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
Top Critic
Lilya 4-Ever gives us a glorious, heart-wrenching debut performance in the lead, as auspicious as any in the history of cinema."

Aug 17, 2010 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Jay Antani
Cinema Writer
A harsh dramatic brew, Lilya 4-Ever is a monumental, abrasive document of a young life flushed down the drain; it's an exceptional, deafening humanitarian alarm that will continue to overwhelm and outrage for years to come.

Dec 17, 2009 | Rating: A | Full Review…

Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com
So seamless and relentlessly powerful that the social-realism of not just this film, but the genre itself, is pushed to its limit. Acting and action that rips so deeply, you'll feel you've got to do more than simply watch.

Feb 26, 2009

Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)
It is undeniable that Moodysson's work has a raw emotional power that transcends most of the film's flaws.

Feb 24, 2005 | Full Review…

Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net
You'll see superb acting by two teens.

Nov 14, 2003 | Rating: 3.5/4

Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer
Absorbing without being particularly illuminating.

Nov 11, 2003 | Rating: 2.5/4

Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

View All Critic Reviews (69)

Audience Reviews for Lilja 4-ever

Jul 13, 2011

The new millennium hits but Moodysson is aware these kind of topics have not ceased to exist. Lilya 4-Ever is a heartbreaking dedication to those young hearts whose innocence have been stolen through brutal means. Some may find it uncomfortable to watch as you literally have to stare to several men in a way some dudes would not want to see in a movie. But that's reality, and the intentions of Lukas are obvious: it takes you literally to Lilya's place regardless of the viewer's sex. Note: Keep in mind that Moodysson has always put a lot of effort and attention to express vividly youngsters' inner feelings and thoughts. That is exactly why you have to pardon the overtly dramatic departure of the mother: my theory is that such scene may have happened only in her head, and that reality was slightly different. 97/100

Edgar C Super Reviewer
Oct 27, 2010

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).

Lauren D Super Reviewer
Oct 18, 2010

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.

Ed Fucking H Super Reviewer
Mar 12, 2010

Devastating drama about a 16 year old Russian girl who turns to prostitution after her mother abandons her to go live in America. Things begin looking up for her as she makes friends with a young street boy, and finds a handsome new boyfriend, but her path into darkness has only just begun. A gutwrenching story, powerfully told through compelling performances.

Matthew L Super Reviewer