Written & Directed By: Lukas Moodysson
Cinematography By: Ulf Brantas
Editor: Michael Leszcylowski, Oleg Morgunov & Bernhard Winkler
Cast: Oksana Akinshina, Artyom Bogutjarskij, Lyubov Agapova, Elina Benenson, Liliya Sjinkarjova, Pavel Ponomatjov
Sixteen-year-old Lilja and her only friend, the young boy Volodja, live in Estonia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej, who is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.
Based primarily on the real life of a Lithuanian girl Danguole Rasalaite, who ended up in Sweden after her mother took off and went to America. The film follows the events of Danguole's life pretty closely, with the main exception of the boy Volodja who is entirely fictional.
This is an emotional beautiful film. That feels like a horror film. As you watch this young girl who is looking for love. Slowly falling into a trap. Where she falls in love. But you know the guy is using her and while you watch hope you are wrong. Again hoping that the film is pushing you in the wrong direction and things will actually turn out good. Then you watch her date in stunned silence as she is caught. You knew it was going to be bad but you aren’t prepared for how bad.
Kind of like watching one of those videos where it’s an alligator or some huge animal versus a smaller one and the smaller one gets a few hits in but you know eventually they are going to be devoured. Though you never look away even when you know you should.
It gets more disturbing in the second half of the movie. That seems to date itself to do It’s Worst to the character.
The film is emotional, visual and just beautiful. Even as a tragedy. As it has a gut punch ending. Even if somewhat happy It’s depressing and heartbreaking. Definitely a tearjerker.
The film stays stylish and avant-grade as the film goes for a more guerilla shooting style with experimental angles that always seem centered and fresh. Where we always feel like we are eves dropping. As this is a different kind of coming of age story.
Oksana Akinshina and director Lukas Moodysson had to communicate through an interpreter because Oksana spoke neither English nor Swedish at the time.
Works on so many levels it is a coming of age movie a character study a social issue movie. That seems to beg us to feel something. That could be a kind of emotional manipulation of you look at it in a certain way but also could find yourself lost in emotions where you don’t care. As the film has already gotten to you.
This film is an unsung masterpiece. That is hard to find it seems. If you can take advantage. It opens your eyes to a subject but doesn’t do an expose or an overview of the subject. It just presents one personal story that while not based on anyone could be any of the real countless victims.
A devastating story in pieces and slowly. That could be seen as a kind of emotional and cinematic manipulation of events happening around the globe.
What might make the film all the more harder to take is that there seems to be no justice or repercussions to the initial predators who are setting the trap. No comeuppance. Though that seems to be the most truthful part of the movie.
A good companion piece to BIG GIRLS, DON’T CRY and 4 MONTHS, 3 DAYS, 2 WEEKS GRADE:
Grade: A+
No comments:
Post a Comment