Lilya 4 ever

Lilya 4 ever is a Swedish fillum about a 16 year old Russian girl whose mother leaves her to go to America.



It's a good fillum and free to watch on Google video . Although it's a Swedish-made story,— the Swedes don't come across as very nice people in it; neither do the Russians, neither do men in general, neither do women in general neither do the youth and neither do old people.

So, in other words, it's a bit realistic.

If it doesn't sound like your cuppa tea, I wouldn't blame you, but, having watched it myself I can't recommend it strongly enough. For a start, Oksana Akinshina who plays the title role, was actually only fourteen when this came out which makes it the most impressive 'child-acting' I've ever seen in my entire puff, and as for the story that Lilya relates... Well...em...how shall I put it?



Okay, as luck would have it, I saw another child-acted film during the week called 'A Little Princess', a Disney fillum, tailor-made, it seemed, for little girls (not my own choice, but surprisingly watchable ).

In plot and theme Lilya 4 ever and A Little Princess have quite a bit in common.

Both plots revolve around young girls who begin 'on a perch' ( The wealthiest girl in the school/The girl whose emigrating from the dullest armpit of Sov-bloc to the US of A ) but both young ladies soon find themselves abandoned and destitute and hungry: both stories are about pride and they're both about poverty. Both characters have a partner in hunger and destitution with whom they have 'pillow-talk' scenes in the middle of the cold night.
Disney teaches us the tenet that

'All Little Girls are Princesses, rich or poor, pretty or plain, young or old' and that if we just remember that, then all will come good in the end*.

* and the baddies will be working as chimney sweeps, — while our heroes depart in their 'carraige-and-pair' on the way to their Mansion.

Lilya 4 ever doesn't teach the idea that all little girls are princesses:

Lilya 4 ever teaches something else entirely.