User Reviews

'Lillian', the film by the Austrian director Andreas Horvath was presented last year at Cannes as part of the 'Quinzaine des realisateurs' selection and since then it has toured the festivals, even collecting some prizes. Horvath has so far made only documentary films, and 'Lillian' belongs in some respects to this category as well. Better said 'also' to this category, as this is an original combination of road movie, historical documentary, video art and feature film. It is a special movie, which is inspired by many other films but also by paintings, a film that does not resemble any other that we have seen, and which offers many reasons to be watched and to debate afterwards.

The starting point is a true story that happened almost a century ago which had as heroine Lillian Alling, a Polish immigrant to America in the 1920s, who, determined to return to her country of origin and not having the money for a steamer ticket, decided to return home on foot. She managed to cross North America between 1926 and 1929, and then her traces were lost. It is not known to this day whether she managed to cross the Bering Strait and reach Russia. The story, quite well known at the time, has already inspired at least one book and one French feature movie. Andreas Horvath took Lillian Alling's story and brought it to the America of today. This is not a historical reconstruction, he was not interested in the details, for example the heroine's journey in the film takes place entirely in America (excluding 'details' such as the crossing twice of the US-Canada border), while the historical Lillian Alling has travelled the continent largely through Canada. The historical subject becomes a pretext, the film is especially about today's America.

Lillian (played by Polish video artist Patrycja Planik) is on screen most of the time, but she does not say a word throughout the film. Her communication with the people she encounters is practically non-existent, the young woman survives with small thefts of food and clothes and by sleeping in deserted houses, while most of the people she crosses the road with seem to ignore her. Even when she meets people who help her with compassion, she doesn't even bother to say 'thank you'. Filmed without a script, based on real situations and improvisations, using amateur actors selected from the people on the road of an American journey similar to Lillian's 90 years ago, the film has an air of authenticity, but the ideological bias can be felt. Lillian remains a mystery to the audience, the director does not try to explain her. More important seems to have been for him the strong social commentary, doubled by a political commentary, but these are indirect, suggested. Most of the landscapes he choose are symbols of disintegration - abandoned cities or farms, communities indifferent to anything not related to iclose and immediate reality (such as weather reports), the sub-culture of kitsch events such as the car destroying show, or the protests of American Indians dispossessed of their properties and marginalized on the land that belonged to them. Only religious propaganda banners on the roadside remind of a family morality that is not inclusive to foreigners. The cinematography is excellent, the nature and the reality fragments flow beautifully on the screen, and I think that here and in the excellent actor performance of the Patrycja Planik we can find the principal qualities of this original 'road movie'.

During months of wandering and thousands of miles, almost no interaction with people. The only two that had any kind if interaction with the girl, just wanted to transfer the "problem" out of their jurisdiction. Yes, yes, I know. The convenience shop owner was kind, but she put the drinks in a bag, as to let the girl walk on, without getting involved in her feelings. The beautiful face of the American nature and the indifferent face of the American society.

This movie is a great experience, beautiful landscapes, nice sound atmosphere. You can feel the loneliness through your screen.

I think that a more specific approach of her psyche could have been nice (but difficult since she does not talk). We can only imagine what is going on inside her head.

But that is maybe the point : the fact that the only things we know about her are what we see about her, puts us in the same position as every stranger the real Lillian met during her adventure.

This visually stunning masterpiece captures the land we are crossing alongside the protagonist with a remarkable presence and elegance. The masterful use of sound reinforces this greatly and forms a deeply meditative experience akin to ASMR, yet it remains accessible to more or less everyone. There's a profound respect for both the protagonist and the land seen throughout the film, and I find it remarkable how they manage to capture such beauty in almost every single shot. The storytelling is minimalistic and intuitive; the protagonist does not utter a single word throughout the entire movie, and it works incredibly well! The character Lillian is a masterclass in determination, subliminality and self-sufficiency. The other characters sparsely found throughout the film almost seems like extensions of nature itself; indifferent, providing and sometimes harmful but not particularly caring. The music is as grand as nature and as vulnerable as Lillian. There's a melancholy in there that reminds me a fair bit of Arvo Pärt.

At first the ending seemed slightly fragmented from the rest of the movie, and this appears like the only potential weakspot of the entire movie. No matter how you experience it, the rest of the film stands firmly on it's feet and proves that life is truly about the journey and not the destination.

I watched this with a friend that has a widely different taste in film compared to me. We both sat speechless throughout the entire movie wishing for it to never end. This is an absolute must-see at the theater!

I have just watched this movie. I feel like through it I was aloud to experience life through the eyes of someone with a completely different life and perspective. Lillian generously allowed me to accompany her on a massive journey. I loved seeing life through her eyes.

She is a beautiful creature, and she taught me that when things are bad, we are all alone, and there is no hope; We are still alive and we should just keep going until our last breath.

I definitely recommend watching this movie.

I didn't really understand the end with the fish hunters but otherwise I liked the movie a lot great camera and the main heroine was great I love her excellent performance... Tnx for this.

I was trapped in the suffering of Lillian.

Patrycja Planik is an World class actress

Two star for the landscape. How do we know it's a real event and the girl disappeared. First of all I don't understand why some one will walk all the way from US to Russia she could have easily stated as illegal immigrant got some job Or could have easily approached the authority and got deported. She never spoke to any one she never made an effort so cant blame the society entirely. Overall I found it slow and boring.

Visually stunning movie except the part at the end with fishers hunting, shocked and disgusted me. I got sick to my stomach. It should be watched.

Some chick wandering through a series of random scenes. It might be nice as a record of ones personal journey through some places but it's not a feature film. People are too afraid to call BS when they see it. Oh it's different it must be good they say. No, it's not good, it's a really bad film.