Lilya 4-ever
This movie is honestly amazing. A work of art. I usually don't cry whilst watching movies but this movie brought me to tears.
The story follows a young girl (perceived to be around 14-16 years old) called Liliya who is living In poverty in a post soviet state. She dreams of a better life in America. One day her mother comes home and tells her that she's is moving to the United States. Excitedly, she tells her best friend about the move.
Soon after, her mother and her boyfriend tell her that unfortunately they will have to go without her and bring her later. Unfortunately this never happened and Lilya was abandoned, left in the care of her aunt, who ends up taking her apartment and forcing her to live in a filthy apartment that a man had died in.
Her friend then invites her out to a club where she engaged in sexual acts in exchange for money. She encourages Lilya to do it aswell but she refuses.
Shortly after, Lilya meets a young boy called Volodya who's father is abusive and kicks him out often. The two develop a friendship and hang out with each other alot.
One day, Lilya goes to school and finds out her friend had told everyone that she was the one who had done the sexual act, angrily, Lilya leaves the school.
As the days go by, she finds herself struggling to afford food, which leads her with no choice but to become a prostitute to earn money for her and Volodya.
One night, while she is walking home a man called Andreas approaches her and tells her that he can help her get a job and a better life. Lilya initially refuses, but the man pressed on. She eventually agrees to the idea. She tells him about Volodya and asked if he could get a job too, Andreas avoids the question.
Andreas and Lilya start to hang out and Lilya starts to fall for him, when she presents the idea to Volodya, he gets mad and tells her that she's being tricked by the man. Lilya doesn't believe him.
The day comes for Lilya to leave and move to Sweden (the country that she would be working in), she hasn't seen Volodya since they had fought. When they get to the airport, Andreas tells her that he can't go with her yet because he has business to attend to, and that he will text her when he gets there.
Reluctantly, she agrees and boards the plane. When she arrives, a man is already there to pick her up, he asks for her passport and she gives it to him. Meanwhile at home, Volodya cannot take the pain of being on his own and sadly takes his own life from overdose.
Back in Sweden, Lilya ends up being forced into prostitution by the man. With no escape because the man controls her home and her passport, she has no choice but to agree. One day she gets the chance to escape so she does.
This all proved too much for Lilya, so while walking down a road with a bridge she climbs on the railing and jumps off.
The movie ends with Lilya and Volodya playing basketball in heaven on the roof of a old building.
Sadly, this movie is based off of a true story which took place 2 years prior. This movie shows that not all stories end happily, and how things aren't always as they seem.