How is the text constructed so that the audience sympathy lies entirely with the teenager (Lilja)?
“Lilja Forever” is a Lukas Moodysson, Swedish and Russian collaboration film in which tests the dystopian theme of communist Russia, conveying the isolated, derelict desolation of a society, proving the harsh way of life, due to the austere conditions and unquestionably indisputable reality of the dichotomy within the totalitarian state.
The establishing shot of the film introduces the main character of Lilja, whom is clearly a young and innocent girl, portrayed in a vexing panic, running for what appears to be her life, immediately setting up the audience’s analytical, heuristic enquires as we instantly become concerned for this young girls safety. Moodysson has captured the majority of this scene using a handheld camera, in order to create a shaky effect, allowing the audience to view this representation through the eyes of Lilja herself, thus rapidly constructing a more worrisome atmosphere as we promptly feel empathy towards Lilja. This is supported through the final shot of this scene, in which we appear to be presented with Lilja, gravely positioned on a bridge, provoking the audience’s horror as a response to her possible contemplation of executing her own self destruction.
An alarming choice of non-diegetic music is delivered, dramatizing the scene perilously, due to the connotations it occupies regarding danger and adrenaline, conveying a menacing uncertainty, sustained through Lilja’s facial expressions of desperation and her body language of vulnerability; arguably prefiguring the lack of hope in which she is encompasses, due to the final shot of the scene, holding undertones of an ostensibly fatal atmosphere. This is where the scene ends, transitioning to a simple black screen, generating the audiences desire to continue watching the film in urgency, in order to answer their essential perturbed queries regarding Lilja’s survival.
Moodysson then presents a littered, categorically conclusive low income society through the use of the dull colour palette, connoting a negative atmosphere, using the grainy, almost greyscale hue to intensify the isolated surroundings, in order to increase the contemporary audience empathy felt towards the characters living in the neglected, barren location.
The first paramount landmark event we are presented to in the film is the abandonment from Lilja’s mother as she leaves Lilja due to the lure of a promised “better life” in America with her current boyfriend, immediately shocking the audience as we are made aware that the character of Lilja is only 15 years of age, in which her mother is illegally dismissing her underage daughter, consequently breaking the trust in which Lilja had for her mother. The occurrence of this incident is hard hitting upon a contemporary audience, in turn directly constructing the sorrow in which we feel towards Lilja, for the clear lack of love in which her mother obviously felt for her, drawing the audience in through the heightened emotion within the scene. Although Lilja acts languid and temperate before her mother’s desertion, once the realisation hits her, she races towards her mother whom remains uncaring and unemotional, detaching herself from a distraught Lilja, proving to the audience her mother’s callousness. Moodysson deliberately presents Lilja as an inconsolable young girl, in order to convey the height of vulnerability in which Lilja is facing, proving that this unloved underage girl is not ready to be on her own.
Despite her mother’s promises to write and send money, this does not happen; prefigured to the audience through the lack of respect her mother has for her as she carelessly has sex in the room next to Lilja’s soon after a betraying talk regarding Lilja and her lack of a future in America, although Lilja has previously told her friends about her move, consequently crushing her dreams. Lilja in range then tears up a picture of her mother, making the audience feel empathy as she has been betrayed, then in order to construct a sense of hope, she glues the picture back together, creating a sense of hope for her mother’s return within the audience too. Her mother then abdicates from her parental role, renouncing all her maternal duties in which she owes Lilja, where upon Lilja burns the photograph she carries of her mother, proving to the audience that her mother is never returning, foreshadowing her lonely and unsafe life in which she must live on her own. This creates a huge sense of empathy in which the audience feels for Lilja as her mother is meant to be the one character within her life whom won’t delude and follow to abandon her, proving her collapse of trust within the adult figures in her society.
The brief scene involving Lilja at school carries some thematic significance also, in that the teacher is another adult who has little regard for Lilja, dismissing her poor test results with sarcasm and mockery. The point here, as in many representations of teenagers, is that delinquency contributes to vulnerability, as even the most apparently trustable adult figure within authority will undoubtedly let you down in this dichotomy of a society, which, married with her mother’s neglect, portrays a dystopia in which all adult characters are insensitive and unloving. Moodysson subverts the natural stereotypes and expectations regarding a schooling atmosphere, conveying Lilja’s school as an oppressive, adverse location of authority where upon they offer no prospects for Lilja’s future, whilst the alleged trusted adult abuses her power through the use of malevolent mockery upon Lilja, constructing a contemporary audience’s sympathy towards Lilja’s struggles. The lack of a parental role in Lilja’s life constructed by Moodysson proves the scarcity of her incentive to attend school; conjoined with the teacher’s lack of respect for Lilja thus creating the delinquency of an abandoned hopeless girl, amplifying a sense of audience empathy towards her, justifying her censurable behaviour.
Lilja’s low quality parental experience and sense of ridicule from her school immediately creates a means of showing a path concerning the rise in sex trafficking and prostitution of young women and girls across Europe due to the collapse of communism in Soviet Russia. Lilja is primarily pushed into prostitution by her “friend”, however upon their first outing we immediately see the difference in temperament’s between Lilja and Natasha, as Lilja acts reserved, not prostituting herself, where as Natasha clearly enjoys doing so. However after being accused of the taking part in the previous, Lilja decides that prostitution is her only option left due to her desperation to eat; emphasising the corruption of the society, and the barbarity of the economy where upon a 15 year old girl is led to violate her body, in order to pay for her basic necessities that we as the audience take advantage of. This creates an enormous sense of shock upon a modern day audience, as Moodysson employs Stanley Cohen’s 1977 theory of moral panic, deliberating around this taboo subject, breaking boundaries in which causes a horrific impact upon the contemporary viewers, amplifying the empathy we feel towards the tragically treated Lilja.
We see Lilja attempt to sell her belongings before agonisingly submitting to prostitution, proving her distaste for her loss of dignity, also supported through Moodysson’s use of a handheld camera, in order to allow the audience to feel the pain in which Lilja feels, conveying a completely unpleasant, non gratifying scene regarding a 15 year old Lilja and a complete juxtaposition of an older man, in order to emphasise Lilja’s virginity, and with this, her innocence. This morally repugnant act continues, however Lilja dons a hair extension piece and applies makeup in order to make a physical transformation, in a bid to distance herself from girl to woman, in the hope of believing within herself that this is an essential act needed in order to live.
Although Lilja lost her virginity to her prostitution act, it is not until now where upon she loses her pride, exploited by a group of delinquent adolescents whom are only out to cause trouble due the prostitution rumours in which they look down on. The audience once again feel sympathy towards Lilja as she has again been damaged and is unsafe, due to her lack of parental or guardian figures, and is only in this position due to her transferral of apartments as her Aunt reallocated Lilja for her own selfish gain; thus portraying another vindictive authoritative adult negatively affecting Lilja’s life.
Lilja meets a young adult male whom both the audience and Lilja immediately judge as another danger regarding her life, however after he introduces himself, appears kind and gentle, therefore a simply mild and helpful character. Andrei offers help and support towards Lilja which we originally see as a trap, however we are also enlightened into how happy he makes Lilja, therefore we feel the need to like him as we empathise with Lilja and her feelings. Lilja seems to distrust everyone for obvious reasons of her previous let downs, however she trusts Andrei due to his lack of motivation to sleep with her, as she believe she has no other incentive.
Everything appears to be running smoothly, as Lilja prepares to live her new life with Andrei, however as rapidly as it began; Andrei immediately lowers in our expectations through his admittance that he will not be joining her to Sweden until after he has ‘visited his ill grandma’, in which we all know means he will not be joining her altogether. This then creates a dangerous situation as it arises that he was a ‘false hope’, seen originally as a ‘miracle’, as he preys on her vulnerability, regardless of the fact that she takes little advantage of him and respects and trusts him to such an extent that she will do anything for him; prefiguring the later events in Sweden, when she is sold like meat.
Once Lilja is transferred to Sweden, we immediately see how it juxtaposes her life in Russia, initially making it seem superior to Russia, as she believes it will enhance her chances of an improved lifestyle. However this changes when she is locked in her new apartment by Andrei’s ‘boss’, then worsens when she is raped when he walks in on her in the bath, as we connect with the idea that we had from the beginning that this was a trap. Then it is presented that he sells her to the first ‘client’, we immediately know that he is a ‘Pimp’ and she will be forced to prostitute herself to be rewarded with a McDonald’s meal afterwards. This is completely unacceptable to a modern day contemporary audience, married with the fact that we are no longer in a dystopian society, amplifying the sense of danger for Lilja within the dichotomy.
We are presented with many shots of Lilja being sold for sex over and over again, being beaten and raped until she loses all self respect. The rape scenes are never titillating as it is always angled from her point of view, connoting a hyperbolic sense of disgust towards her boss’ actions, conveying her in many unfair situations, using gang rape to present a really overt condition in which we entirely sympathise for her. Moodysson also conveys a repulsive fantasy in which Lilja is forced to play along with between her and presumably a father, as he attempts to re-enact a father and daughter sex scene, which is inappropriate in any situation. Lilja however refuses to act submissively and go along with this scenario, instead shouting repetitively in Russian, in which the audience see as her way of protesting against her poor treatment. Although Lilja is hopeless and alone, she refuses to be silenced in a way of maintaining her dignity. Here we see Moodysson’s refusal to conform to Mulvey’s male gaze theory, through the montage of disgusting and abusive mise on scene sex scenes.
Although we see themes of imprisonment and entrapment, Lilja’s isolation forces her to be dependent on her boss, as he is her source of accommodation, consequently her supply of sleep and food, whilst being exploitative through the common of the time sex trafficking issue.
Sweden presents our view of the male gender as a collective, representing them as opportunistic and voyeuristic rapists, ensuring our complete empathy within Lilja as she has to fight for her freedom.
Her freedom however, is shown as impossible and unachievable; therefore she carries out the only task which will ensure her of her freedom as she commits suicide, in order to return to her rapidly stolen childhood. This, although appears to be a sad event, presents that her death has reunited her with Volodya, consequently returning her innocence to her, as she is clearly portrayed to be in a care free, non-vulnerable, happier place where upon she will no longer be harmed. This is a very overt and extreme form of obtaining her freedom; however this appears to be her only choice, connoting her sense of loss and lack of hope, creating a sense of audience empathy towards her as such an explicit event needed to take place in order to gain her lost freedom. We also feel sympathy towards Lilja as she seems to have been let down by every adult present in her life, consequently it seems that her short life has been wasted through abuse, proving that she never had a chance at gaining freedom whilst alive, which; to a contemporary audience allows us to feel compassion for the young girl.
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