Why pay eight bucks to see this horrifying and sad film about the sort of girl you'd pass on the street without giving her a thought? Because, improbably, it says that life is worth living.
Comment
07/22/03
Lilya 4-Ever (2003)
86
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:65
Fresh:56
Rotten:9
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: A tragic, hard-hitting story about a teenager trapped in a life of prostitution.
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: From the first devastating moments of LILYA 4-EVER, as the cherubic 16-year-old protagonist (Oksana Akinshina) staggers, broken and beaten to a pulp, down the sidewalk of a bleak and unidentifiable... [More]
Starring: Oksana Akinshina, Artiom Bogucharski, Elina Benenson, Liliya Shinkaryova
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Reviews for Lilya 4-Ever
Click to read the article
07/19/03
Top CriticWorth every uncomfortable minute.
07/17/03
A wrenching feel-bad movie graced by a luminous central performance.
06/27/03
It's Moodysson's dark sense of humour to make [Lilya's] heaven the hell of merely poverty and insurmountable ennui.
06/25/03
Goes too far in depicting the humiliation and cruelty heaped on Lilja
06/25/03
It tells a heartbreaking story, one of those tales that need to be told and about which only pain can be felt.
06/20/03
I usually hate when movies pity its characters, but I wish Swedish director Lucas Moodysson had shown at least pity; instead, he goes about destroying this young Russian girl with the grim, dispassionate determination of a medieval executioner.
06/13/03
A rather unsettling mix of light and dark, which robs it of power and causes it to become muddled.
06/13/03
Seldom have the movies given us a young actress as appealing as Oksana Akinshina, or presented a character as real as the one she plays in Lilya 4-Ever.
06/13/03
After your heart has been beaten, bludgeoned, anally raped and stomped upon, there's still another hour left to go...
06/04/03
It is Akinshina's presence and performance that make the pedestrian story heart-wrenching.
05/28/03
... a fantastic movie.
05/27/03
This movie may seem, by plain description, like putting your heart into a garlic press. But it's extraordinarily alive.
05/16/03
What Lilja 4-Ever has in common with the greatest films is its spiritual transcendence. Don't miss it.
05/16/03
Click to read the article
05/16/03
Top CriticStark and unblinking.
05/09/03
Click to read the article
05/09/03
I read of thousands of women from Eastern Europe who are lured into virtual slavery. I hope some of their clients will attend this movie, even if for the wrong reasons, and see what they are responsible for.
05/09/03
Top CriticMoodysson's compassion is undeniable, and his direction has a snap and vigor...
05/09/03
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 81% | Departures | 04/12 |
| 79% | Disgrace | 04/12 |
| 79% | Me and Orson Welles | 04/12 |
| 66% | The Merry Gentleman | 04/12 |
| 61% | The Girlfriend Experience | 04/12 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds