i must have seen a different film!!

A Masterpiece!

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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.

Movie is quite sad and shows the unfortunate life of a girl who is caught in awful circumstances...lead actress was great...definitely a must watch...

From the beginning to the end, the film which blows drama wind that is more tough during the end, glamorously beautiful, the film which has a soundtrack ("Mein Hertz Brennt"), in my opinion, completed absolutely to the movie, especially to the last scene and the most important, the film which is not the mainstream movie like recommended by a "friend"

'Lilya 4-Ever' is hugely bleak. You shake your head as Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) is manipulated and abused. I read somewhere that this film is 'torture porn', nonsense, despite the sleazy, damning impression it leaves on you, it's a very tastefully made film. It's unremittingly depressing, but always tasteful.It's somewhat one-track in its storytelling; almost everyone is callous, abusive and indifferent about Lilya's well-being, none more so than her mother, who deserts her, initiating Lilya's dive into veritable squalor. I can understand how these people are going to be embittered by their tough, filthy neighbourhood, but some of the characters' cruelty and selfishness border on evil. Her only friend is Volodya (Artyom Bogucharsky), a young admirer of hers who is always thinking in her best interest. The young pair give terrifically natural performances, which help achieve the film's aura of hyperrealism.Much like films such as 'Import/Export', the camera captures the striking, achromatic landscapes of Eastern European housing projects. The scale of its anaemic bleakness that is visually arresting.The total deprivation in this film makes one appreciative of not only family and friends but basic commodities too. Lilya is thrown into a world of abject poverty, where the living conditions are so desperate that we see her attempting to sell her few, worthless possessions on a street corner. Lilya and Volodya frequently talk about a better life, but they're both so tragically far away from their fantasies. Inevitably, she discovers that prostitution is the most lucrative way of assuring she has the resources to be able to live and maybe even achieve her dreams.Throughout the film, I wanted to reach into the screen and cradle the sweet little Oksana Akinshina, attacking anyone who wanted to exploit her for whatever disgusting purpose. The film puts an innocent, sympathetic face on prostitution, an industry that's unfairly maligned and condemned by society. In fact, the film puts an innocent, sympathetic face on the underclass; its candid hyperrealism gives you a vivid portrait of total and utter destitution, helping you understand and empathise with their lamentable lives. www.hawkensian.com