Everyone has rules in their lives. I got some rules too, some of them are unbreakable, some of them are very breakable...and trust me I do break them. One of the unbreakable rules is to watch these 3 films every six months. (don't ask me why every six month).I want to recommend and talk in this article about these 3 films and why they are important to me.

1. "Lilja 4-ever"

The film is based on the real life of a Lithuanian girl named Danguole Rasalaite. Following pretty closely the events in the life of Rasalaite, the film is extremely sad and hopeless. When we think about USA, we think about freedom, money and a better life in general and that's exactly where our main character wants to go. Her mother meets a new boyfriend, which he will get her to USA to be together and live a life worth living. Lilja, remains in Russia with the promise that once her mother arrives to USA she will make everything to get Lilja there too, but that's not how it goes. While waiting for her mother's reply, Lilja passes her time away smoking and drinking with her friend, Volodya. When the reality hits and the hopes for the letter from her mother, are becoming more and more unrealistic and impossible, our character meets a young man by the name Andrei. Just like her mother he promises her a better life, and for a moment that's what seems. A new job, a new apartment and a lot of prospect for the future. That's not what it really seems though, since she got caught in an underground sex trade.

The demoralizing tone, the realistic picture of poverty, the feeling of desperation, humiliation and depression, in which a lot of people from Eastern Europe lives, couldn't be depicted in a better way than this film. It looks like some people are animals, with no compassion left inside them. The ones are being pushed by poverty to do certain things a human being would never do and others are pushed by urges that will get them killed if ever talked about them freely. Lilya, gets to be treated like cattle by being send from a man to another, beaten, humiliated and insulted. The constant heartbreaking you get every time you try to dream and think you have finally made it, makes this experience unforgettable.

Volodya: "I killed myself and went to heaven and yeah, it's really good in heaven. But I regret it, because I wanted to live on earth a little longer. You remain dead for all eternity, but you are alive only for a brief moment."

2. "The Chaser"

Yep...another hopeless film. But I promise you it's worth it.

In South Korea this time, the film tells the story of a retired cop turned pimp, a serial killer and a prostitute, which is also a mother. Probably you will get a little bored and also not understand too much in the first 10-15 minutes but bear through it because until the end you'd want the film to never finish...and even if you'd like it to finish, definitely not in that way.

The story starts when our pimp figure it out the fact that some of his girl are just disappearing, which is bad for his business. Since he had some police background he starts to investigate and finds the man guilty for this. From the point on it starts the chase, literally and also figuratively. The film is filled with violence, blood, a lot of funny moments and also sad moments. The film never misses a chance to make funny of the incompetence of the cops and police in general, at the point where you think is a over the top scene, which you don't know if you have to take it seriously or not . But that's the point to be honest. In it's completely uniqueness the film gets better and better as we watch it, even though our character has zero sympathy for the viewer, we get to see a part of him that wouldn't expect from a pimp.

It's hard to describe a film that doesn't follow any convention. The Chaser, has a lot of twists, violent sequences and a very dark and neo noire feeling to it.

It's unique and intense.

3. "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"

Probably you already guessed it, another sad, bleak and depressing film. To put it in perspective I will just write a short presentation as synopsis.

A woman assist her friend to an abortion, during the communist era of Ceausescu, in Romania...where the abortions was illegal.

Of course that people outside Romania watching this film will be think, what's the big deal? I mean we are in 1980s, why isn't abortion legal by now? Well not only abortion was illegal during that time in Romania, but also contraception as well. The reason why all this was illegal is because of a law the dictator Ceausescu passed. He just needee workforce, more people working, more money making.

It's a black harsh reality people were living in that era, not only abortion was illegal, but it was a shortage on food also. People were staying outside store hoping there will be enough remained for them once they can get inside the store. The film doesn't concentrate on communism, but on humans, on us. Or maybe even better put it, on human's feelings. The film is slow but very intense and real. There are some scenes in which you are grabbed and can see the emotions of the characters as vivid as it can get.

Abortions is a very complex issue, we keep talking about it now in 2021 and in some places it's still illegal, in others immoral and in others you get the death penalty for doing it. The movie treats this very sensitive subject with maturity and sensibility. The director doesn't take any stances on the issue and that's a good thing, since you the viewer, are treated with respect and it's your job to think for yourself.