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[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20d40358b8ddd8dd9c238c1f23deceba.jpg]]

''Lilja 4-ever'' is a 2002 Swedish drama film directed by Lukas Moodysson.

Lilya (Creator/OksanaAkinshina) is a 16-year-old girl living in the slums of the former Soviet Union. As the film opens, she is trying to make the most out of her poverty-stricken life, but is ''really'' looking forward to moving to America with her mother.

Eventually, her mother leaves for America but is only planning on going alone, leaving Lilya to fend for herself, ultimately goaded by her abusive aunt to turn to a life of prostitution only slightly remedied by squatting in a flat with a local boy named Volodya who serves as her only friend.

However, she gets a boyfriend named Andrei, [[HopeSpot who offers her a passport and a new life in Sweden]], [[FromBadToWorse and it only goes downhill from there.]]

Did we also mention this was VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory?

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!!This film provides examples of:

* AbusiveParents: Volodya's alcoholic dad beats him and eventually kicks him out of their home.
* AdultsAreUseless: Adults are either showed to be absent and weak or actively trying to bring misery on the protagonists.
** ''Lilya's mom''. As if abandoning her wasn't enough, [[spoiler: she later revokes her parenthood of her.]]
* AmbiguousEnding: The ending is montaged in a way that would give rise to two interpretations. [[spoiler: Either Lilya going to Sweden [[AllJustADream was all just a nightmare]] she had as we see her reliving key moments from her time in Eastern Europe while making different choices this time around. Or the [[DownerEnding suicide was real]] and we see her [[DiedHappilyEverAfter happily playing basketball with Volodya in the afterlife]].]]
* BadSamaritan: [[spoiler:Andrei]] turns out to be this. (see BaitTheDog and BitchInSheepsClothing)
* BaitTheDog: [[spoiler: Andrei]] does this to Lilya by making her think he genuinely loves her and wants to help her by getting her out of Eastern Europe for good and moving to Sweden with him. However... [[spoiler: it turns out he was using her so he could sell her as a sex-slave to human traffickers]].
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted heavily at the end, where we see Lilya bloodied and battered on several areas of her face following [[spoiler: assault from her pimps]].
* BigNo: [[spoiler: Angel!]]Volodya shouts several of these [[spoiler: as he tries to interrupt Lilya's suicide.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Andrei]], who presents himself as a kind, altruistic man who wants to help Lilya get out of Eastern Europe, but is, in fact, a [[SlimeBall despicable, manipulative scumbag]] who tricks girls and sells them into sex slavery.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Sure, Lilya starts out in the film as rather rude and engages in underage drug use, but she's a saint when compared to most of the people she interacts with. See HateSink below.
* BreakTheCutie: Between the parental abandonment [[spoiler: and ultimate disenfranchisement]] and [[spoiler: her being tricked into a confined life of sex slavery]], Lilya's never much more than a mere plaything for the people around her.
* BreakTheHaughty: Lilya is pretty much a BrattyTeenageDaughter at the beginning, but still doesn't deserve the hell she goes through by anyone's standards.
* BurnBabyBurn: Lilja burning the picture of her mother.
* CassandraTruth: [[spoiler:Volodya. Granted, his warnings about Andrei probably were based on jealousy, but in the end, he ''was'' right.]]
* CrapsackWorld: Eastern Europe and Sweden do not come off well in this movie ''at all''. Lilya [[LampshadeHanging even shares this sentiment]] when [[spoiler: Angel!Volodya gives her the world as a Christmas gift, and she rejects it]].
* DarkerAndEdgier: Lukas Moodyson is best known abroad for his drama ''Film/FuckingAmal'' which featured a blooming lesbian relationship and the consequent {{Gayngst}}, but ultimately the protagonists come to terms with their sexuality and [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn their happy ending]]. This one instead is a huge BreakTheCutie story, which features human trafficking as the main subject.
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler: For Volodya, it's Lilya leaving him behind. For Lilya, it's being forced into prostitution again in Sweden.]]
* DiedHappilyEverAfter: After [[spoiler: Lilya kills herself to escape a life of forced prostitution, her and her young friend Volodya (who committed suicide earlier in the film) [[TogetherInDeath appear as angels]] playing basketball.]]
* DisappearedDad: Lilya's father abandoned her mother as soon as she told him she was pregnant.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Volodya, via pill overdose, and Lilya, via jumping from a bridge.]]
* {{Eagleland}}: Type 1, Lilya is enamored with the idea of moving from the Soviet Union to America.
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Andrei]].
* FalseFriend: Andrei pretends to court Lilya to get her out of Eastern Europe and sold her to prostitution.
** Also Natasha, who hangs out with Lilya but has no qualms about framing her when her father almost finds out she secretly sells herself to gain extra cash.
* ForeignLanguageTitle: Lilya '''4-ever'''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Even before [[spoiler: Andrei]] is revealed to be manipulating Lilya, there are some very subtle hints predicting this.
** Volodya is very suspicious of him and warns Lilya that he's using her. While at first it just seems like Volodya is envious and resentful about the fact he'll be all alone without Lilya, [[spoiler: he turns out to be all too correct]].
** When [[spoiler: Andrei]] tells Lilya he can help her find a new job in Sweden, he mentions growing vegetables as an example, the only problem is that during winter (where the film is set), vegetables don't grow, [[spoiler: something that Lilya even lampshades at the end]].
** It also seems rather odd that [[spoiler: Andrei]] would genuinely want to help Lilya, considering he only just met her.
* FromBadToWorse: Lilya is first abandoned by her mom, then she is kicked out by her aunt and forced into prostitution, then she is betrayed by her male "friends" who later rape her, and finally, she is tricked into sex slavery by the very man who pretended to love her.
* GratuitousDiscoSequence: Lilya is shown having some fun at the disco with Natasha until the latter starts to pick up clients. [[spoiler: Later subverted when Lilya prostitutes herself by picking up random people there.]]
* GuardianAngel: [[spoiler: Volodya becomes one for Lilya after his suicide.]]
* HateSink: Lilya and Volodya are pretty much the only people in the film who ''aren't'' reprehensible scumbags.
** Lilya's mom, who not only abandons her but [[spoiler: outright disowns her later]] in the film.
** Lilya's aunt, who doesn't give a rat's ass about Lilya and then kicks her out forcing her into prostitution.
** Volodya's dad, who abuses and shouts at him.
** Lilya's former male friends, who betray her after they find out she's been prostituting herself and [[spoiler: later ''rape'' her]].
** Andrea, who pretends to care about Lilya but [[spoiler: is actually using her to sell her into sex slavery]].
** [[spoiler: Lilya's pimp, who beats her, rapes her, and uses her as a sex slave for other men.]]
** Even the minor characters are cruel and unlikeable. The neighbor never gets a nice line in the movie and constantly mocks Lilya. In the only scene she appears in, the teacher sarcastically says "you have a good future ahead of you" after Lilya does poorly on a test.
* HowWeGotHere: The movie starts with Lilya running away from her captors and [[spoiler: contemplating suicide by jumping off a bridge.]]
* HumansAreBastards: The portrayal of humanity in this movie is very negative, to say the least.
* HumanTraffickers: [[spoiler: Andrei turns out to be one of these.]]
* InspiredBy: See VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory below.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Lilya's neglectful mother, Lilya's aunt, Volodya's abusive father, the boys who gang-raped Lilya, Lilya's pimp, and Andrei pretty much all get away with their horrible actions and never get punished.]]
* Letters2Numbers: The "4" in the movie title.
* MagicalRealism: Despite being [[CrapsackWorld very realistic]], Volodya appears [[spoiler: after death as an angel]] and talks with Lilya.
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: [[spoiler: Lilya tries to say goodbye to Volodya, but he is hurt that she is leaving and runs away before she can.]]
* OnceMoreWithClarity: The film starts with a flash-forward image of a beaten Lilya running through the city, heading towards a motorway bridge, while Rammstein's "Mein Herz Brennt" plays in the background. We see the image again near the end when it becomes the chronological present, where it's revealed that [[spoiler: she's escaping her life of prostitution and moments away from ending her life in general]].
* ParentalAbandonment: Lilya's father only courted her mother to sleep with her, and then proceeded to move to Moscow and sever all ties he had with her mother once she told him he was pregnant. Lilya's mother abandons her when she moves to America with her new boyfriend, and her Aunt (who was told to watch over Lilya after her mother left), while not necessarily moving away or anything, [[ParentalNeglect does essentially leave her to her own devices,]] telling her to whore herself out if she needs money to keep the electricity in her flat.
* ParentalSubstitute: Lilya [[spoiler:(temporarily)]] becomes this for Volodya. Lilya's aunt is ''supposed'' to be this for her, [[spoiler: but she gives up rather quickly.]]
* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: This film subverts any concept of UnproblematicProstitution one may have and shows how horrible and traumatizing is to have to sell themselves and then being coerced into prostitution several times ''in a day''.]]
* RapeDiscretionShot: [[NightmareFuel Horribly averted]]. [[spoiler: Lilya is raped several times onscreen, with the camera focusing on her rapists' faces as [[NauseaFuel they're having an orgasm]].]]
* {{Ruritania}}: Lilya and her family live in one that's as dreary and depressing as they come. Everyone there speaks Russian, though the film was actually shot in Estonia, and the real girl Lilya was based on was from Lithuania.
* SceneryGorn: The abandoned Soviet building where Lilya and Volodya hide to play is quite creepy. It used to be an office where most of the town had worked but since the perestroika it has been abandoned and forgotten like pretty much of the Soviet buildings spread around Eastern Europe.
* SensualSlavs: Deconstructed, considering the main character is a poor Eastern European girl who is forced into prostitution.
* SexSlave: [[spoiler: How unfortunately Lilya ends up.]]
* ShowerOfAngst: After being pimped out by her captors, Lilya shows a ThousandYardStare while taking a bath.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Lilya and Volodya [[spoiler: as angels in Heaven]] play basketball, laughing, while sad violin music reminds us that [[spoiler: they both killed themselves as children]].
* SuicideByPills: [[spoiler:Volodya]] commits suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills.
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler: The film ends with Lilya and Volodya playing basketball happily together in the afterlife.]]
* TraumaCongaLine: Lilya is first abandoned by her mother, then left by her aunt to fend for herself, ''then'' runs out of money and starts to prostitute herself, [[spoiler: ''then'' gets harassed and raped]]...[[TearJerker it never stops]].
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: Lilya smokes, drinks, huffs glue, and prostitutes herself (though the latter one she does out of necessity). Volodya is also worryingly fine with doing drugs at age 11.
* UnproblematicProstitution: Natasha sees no problem with occasionally selling herself to gain extra cash unless her father finds out.
** Subverted with Lilya. She is visibly disgusted by her clients, and is very much vulnerable to being harassed or beaten, but goes through it anyway because she desperately needs money.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The general beats of Lilya's life -- excited for a better life in the USA, abandoned by her mother, [[spoiler: entered a relationship with an older man who promised her a better life in Sweden, locked in the apartment by other men upon arriving, forced to prostitute herself until she escapes and commits suicide via jumping off a bridge]] -- are based on the real-life of the Lithuanian girl Danguolė Rasalaitė.
* VisualTitleDrop: What Lilya and Volodya carve into the bench.
* VomitDiscretionShot: Lilya is showed discreetly vomiting after her first intercourse with a client.
* WorldOfJerkass: Big time. Lilya and Volodya are the only good characters in the film, while everyone else is either a rapist, a pimp, a neglectful parent, an abuser, or an opportunistic backstabber.
* WretchedHive: UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia seems nothing like a nice place to live. You'd try to get out too.
* YankTheDogsChain: ''Twice''. When Lilya thinks she's leaving for America with her mother, [[ParentalAbandonment mum instead leaves her behind]]. When she thinks she's going to start a new life in Sweden with Andrei, she gets lured by human traffickers instead.
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