| Tragedy
is a word that gets thrown around casually all too often. In the
case of "Lilya 4-ever" however, I am not sure it fully captures the
magnitude of the situation. I don't want to deter anyone from
seeing this great film... I think it demands to be seen by anyone with
a conscience. I will liken it to seeing "Schindler's List" on an
individual scale. Many people mislabel Spielberg's holocaust
classic as depressing. I've always claimed that it is one of the
most hope-filled films ever made. It inspires me that goodness
and kindness is an everlasting action that will triumph over evil.
This small film, set in the slums of Russia, works in much the same
way. It shows incredible pain and torment, but contrasts it with
hope and friendship in ways that will make viewers hearts soar with
overwhelming emotion.
Oksana Akinshina delivers an astonishing child performance as
Lilya, a young teen girl who is quite literally abandoned by her
mother, who leaves for America with her sleazy new man. Alone,
penniless and living in squalor, Lilya has only one friend, Volodya, a
pre-teen boy whose life is no better than her own. Together,
they squeeze out a minimal excuse for a life.
The film eventually makes its way to a central theme... that of sex
trafficking. Deceived and used by virtually everyone in her
life, Lilya eventually gets shipped to Sweden where she is forced into
a life of sexual servitude.
What makes this film so memorable is that indelible mark left by
Akinshina. It is not only one of the great child performances of
all time, it is one of the best I've ever seen from any actor...
period. Director, Lukas Moodysson, bravely directs her along a
very sensitive path. He brilliantly uses music and style to
shift the pace and tone of the film from scene to scene. He
bounces from hope to hell and back again many times and it all builds
to a crescendo of emotion that is sure to bring a tear from the most
cynical of viewers.
This masterpiece is one of the best films of 2003 and will
assuredly challenge for a top ten spot at the end of this decade.
"Lilya 4-ever" is an important film... a dreadfully sad film... but
most of all, a hopeful film. The hope lies in the notion that
this life is not all we have... that friendship and love and hope
itself can last forever... Beyond this temporary existence, which,
through no fault of our own, can go horribly, tragically wrong. |
