Lilja-4-ever (2002)IMDB LinkThere is a difference between a sad movie and a depressing movie. Sad is when a young girl has her heart broken. Depressing is when the girl has her heart broken, plus abandoned by her mother, plus raped, plus sold into prostitution, plus falls into mud while running.
Lukas Moodysson seems to feel strongly about a situation, which is of child prostitution, and wants to rub our faces in it, and make us feel as bad about it as possible. It is extremely manipulative. For example, when the young girl, Lilja, runs after her mother (who is abandoning her), he isn’t content with just letting us feel sad for her situation, but actually makes it in slow motion, then have her fall in mud, THEN have a dirty dog move slowly towards her, and nudge her hair.
And this happens again and again. I’m impressed by director’s who are able to make us feel emotional devastated by showing us very little, not by detailed and continuous tragedies. Rape itself is an easy emotional trigger for directors. Think of 'Irreversible', a movie that’s only conversation highlight seems to be about the rape scene. How is that admirable? If a movie’s only strong point is to try to capture a horrific scene in detail, then it is equivalent to pornography. Not that is necessary a bad thing, as I have nothing against pornography, and I’d like to think that my life would be far less enjoyable if it were not for porn (how else would I enjoy going to a hospital, where it not for the hope of getting blowjobs from hot nurses?).
Back to 'Lilja-4-Eva'. Yes, it was depressing, but how could it not be? You have so many bad things happen to a young girl, and it is not hard to get depressed about it.
I did like the movie, because I like to be emotionally affected, but I do not admire it. With 'Fucking Amel', Lukas Moodysson focused on the story and the characters, rather than distressing events, and that’s why it works. With 'Lilja-4-Ever', it is mainly about the events, rather than the characters.
3/5
