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Lilya 4-Ever

Play trailer Poster for Lilya 4-Ever R,  2003,  1h 49m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 83% 66 Reviews Tomatometer 91% 10,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
83% Tomatometer 66 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) lives in poverty and dreams of a better life. Her mother moves to the United States and abandons her to her aunt (Liliya Shinkaryova), who neglects her. Lilya hangs out with her friends, Natasha (Elina Benenson) and Volodya (Artiom Bogucharski), who is suicidal. Desperate for money, she starts working as a prostitute, and later meets Andrei (Pavel Ponomaryov). He offers her a good job in Sweden, but when Lilya arrives her life quickly enters a downward spiral.
Lilya 4-Ever

What to Know

Critics Consensus

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

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Critics Reviews

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James Christopher The Times (UK) Dec 7, 2018
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. Go to Full Review
Alexander Walker London Evening Standard Jan 10, 2018
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. Go to Full Review
Ty Burr Boston Globe Jul 25, 2003
3/4
[Moodysson] dives into the soul of a 16-year-old Estonian girl and tears you apart. Go to Full Review
Wael Khairy The Cinephile Fix Nov 20, 2023
The film left me completely devastated and Oksana Akinshina’s performance is absolutely heartbreaking....“Lilya 4-ever” was so powerful it helped reshape laws within society. This is as important and urgent as cinema gets. Go to Full Review
Jay Antani Cinema Writer Aug 17, 2010
3/4
Lilya 4-Ever gives us a glorious, heart-wrenching debut performance in the lead, as auspicious as any in the history of cinema." Go to Full Review
Brian Orndorf BrianOrndorf.com Dec 17, 2009
A
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Hermione W Apr 29, 2017 Movie about a young teen girl from Russia whose mother abandons her. She is left alone to fend for and feed herself and its heartbreaking. Really well told and directed. I really felt for this girl. I wanted so bad to help her. This has some hardcore sex scenes so its not for children. Be warned. See more
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Lilya 4-Ever

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Cast & Crew

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Lukas Moodysson

Director

Oksana Akinshina

Lilja

Artiom Bogucharski

Volodya

Elina Benenson

Natasha

Liliya Shinkaryova

Aunt Anna

Pavel Ponomaryov

Andrei

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Lilya 4-Ever

Oksana Akinshina as "Lilya" in Lukas Moodysson's LILYA 4-EVER. Artiom Bogucharskij and Oksana Akinshina in Lukas Moodysson's LILYA 4-EVER. Oksana Akinshina during the shooting of Lilya 4-Ever. Artiom Bogucharskij, Nikolaj Bentsler, Elina Benenson and Oksana Akinshina in Lukas Moodysson's LILYA 4-EVER. Artiom Bogucharskij and Oksana Akinshina in Lukas Moodysson's LILYA 4-EVER. Oksana Akinshina as "Lilya" and Elina Beninson as "Natasha" in Lukas Moodysson's LILYA 4-EVER. LILYA 4-EVER director and screenwriter Lukas Moodysson. Artiom Bogucharskij and Oksana Akinshina in Lukas Moodysson's LILYA 4-EVER. Lilya 4-Ever (2002) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) lives in poverty and dreams of a better life. Her mother moves to the United States and abandons her to her aunt (Liliya Shinkaryova), who neglects her. Lilya hangs out with her friends, Natasha (Elina Benenson) and Volodya (Artiom Bogucharski), who is suicidal. Desperate for money, she starts working as a prostitute, and later meets Andrei (Pavel Ponomaryov). He offers her a good job in Sweden, but when Lilya arrives her life quickly enters a downward spiral.
Director
Lukas Moodysson
Producer
Lars Jönsson
Screenwriter
Lukas Moodysson
Distributor
Newmarket Film Group
Production Co
Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond, Zentropa Entertainment, Film i Väst, Svenska Filminstitutet, Memfis Film, Sveriges Television, Det Danske Filminstitut
Rating
R (Rape|Language|Drug Use|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Swedish
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 11, 2003, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA)
$181.7K
Runtime
1h 49m
Sound Mix
Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital
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