(1978) : An Italian drama about a WWI veteran who becomes obsessed with a young girl. Like Maladolescenza , it deals with complex and highly controversial psychological dynamics. Don’t Deliver Us from Evil (1971)
Louis Malle Why it fits: If you watched Maladolescenza for its taboo-breaking depiction of a child’s sexuality, Pretty Baby is the closest Hollywood-adjacent cousin. Set in 1917 New Orleans, it stars a 12-year-old Brooke Shields as Violet, the daughter of a prostitute (Susan Sarandon) living in a Storyville brothel. The film culminates in the auction of Violet’s virginity and her marriage to a photographer.