During this movie I felt more and more sorry for Lilja (Oksana Akinshina), a girl from the former Soviet Union. As the viewer you know what will happen with the poor girl because it seems so logical, but from her point of view it is just a great opportunity that turns out to be something completely different. First her mother leaves her to go to America with a new husband. Lilja thinks she will travel after her mother some time later, but that is not going to happen. Her only friend is Volodya (Artyom Bogucharsky), a young boy she hangs out with.
Then she meets a boy who says he likes her. He invites her to come to Sweden with him, start a life together. She has to go first, he will travel after her, again, some time later. Volodya does not agree with it, but she goes anyway. Arriving in Sweden she is picked up by an older man, put in an apartment locked from the outside, and we understand that the boy will not travel after her. The next day the man brings Lilja another man; she must have sex with him. Finally it is clear for her, sort of, as it was for us all along.
I guess there are thousands and thousands of stories like this and realizing that Lilja's story is even more sad. The way certain people use unhappiness of others is terrible and 'Lilja 4-ever' shows us in a realistic way how easy it basically is. If you are as unhappy as Lilja every opportunity seems fantastic.
There are two scenes that you will remember. The first shows us Lilja's face when the men are on top of her. She just lies there, helpless, without any reason to live. The second shows us the faces of the men that are on top of her. This montage lets us see the ugliness of those people, what kind of animals the world knows. 'Lilja 4-ever' is a sad movie, but a good movie. Although we probably know that things like this happen, it is not bad to realize that from time to time. 'Fucking Åmål' director Lukas Moodysson makes sure we do that with his movie.
Then she meets a boy who says he likes her. He invites her to come to Sweden with him, start a life together. She has to go first, he will travel after her, again, some time later. Volodya does not agree with it, but she goes anyway. Arriving in Sweden she is picked up by an older man, put in an apartment locked from the outside, and we understand that the boy will not travel after her. The next day the man brings Lilja another man; she must have sex with him. Finally it is clear for her, sort of, as it was for us all along.
I guess there are thousands and thousands of stories like this and realizing that Lilja's story is even more sad. The way certain people use unhappiness of others is terrible and 'Lilja 4-ever' shows us in a realistic way how easy it basically is. If you are as unhappy as Lilja every opportunity seems fantastic.
There are two scenes that you will remember. The first shows us Lilja's face when the men are on top of her. She just lies there, helpless, without any reason to live. The second shows us the faces of the men that are on top of her. This montage lets us see the ugliness of those people, what kind of animals the world knows. 'Lilja 4-ever' is a sad movie, but a good movie. Although we probably know that things like this happen, it is not bad to realize that from time to time. 'Fucking Åmål' director Lukas Moodysson makes sure we do that with his movie.