Lilya 4-ever

2002 1h 49m SV

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🍅

84%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 699🍅84%Rotten Tomatoes●83Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 53,170

DramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Oksana Akinshina
Lilja
Artyom Bogucharsky
Volodja
Ljubov Agapova
Lilja's Mother
Liilia Šinkarjova
Aunt Anna
Elina Benenson
Natasha
Pavel Ponomaryov
Andrei
Tomasz Neuman
Witek
Anastasiya Bedredinova
Neighbor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lukas Moodysson
Writers: Lukas Moodysson
Languages: Russian, Swedish, English
Countries: Denmark, Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 37% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Russian, Swedish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Denmark, Sweden.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lukas Moodysson, shot by Ulf Brantås. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nathan Larson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michał Leszczyłowski shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lukas Moodysson directs. Ulf Brantås behind the camera. Nathan Larson scores. Michał Leszczyłowski cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Denmark, Sweden. Dialogue in Russian, Swedish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 37% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 24 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Russian, Swedish, English.
5International production across 2 countries: Denmark, Sweden.
6Directed by Lukas Moodysson, shot by Ulf Brantås. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Nathan Larson. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Michał Leszczyłowski shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Oksana Akinshina and Artyom Bogucharsky and Ljubov Agapova carry the top of the cast.
10IMDB entry: tt0300140 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 18 themes, including "suicide", "escape", "underground", "despair".