To date, Letterboxd has kept the page, citing its policy against removing films for content alone (they have kept Salò , Cannibal Holocaust , and A Serbian Film ). But Maladolescenza is different. The others feature adult actors simulating violence. This one features real children in unsimulated contexts.
The platform has become the de facto public archive for the film’s infamy—a place where new generations learn why this particular piece of 1970s cinema is not a forgotten gem, but a criminal record of an abused childhood. maladolescenza letterboxd
If you see the title trending on Letterboxd, do not be curious. The most common review is the wisest: "Don't watch it. Just read about it. Protect your peace." To date, Letterboxd has kept the page, citing
Until Letterboxd makes the difficult decision to de-platform it, Maladolescenza will remain the darkest rabbit hole on the site—a one-star tombstone for the lost innocence of its child actors, and a mirror held up to the audience’s own voyeuristic shame. If you or someone you know is a survivor of child exploitation, please contact local support services or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. This one features real children in unsimulated contexts
Eva later sued her mother for the photographs and publicly stated that she felt exploited by Murgia. In interviews, she described the set of Maladolescenza as psychologically damaging. She is now a photographer and actress who has explicitly disavowed the film.
However, the vast majority of reviews eviscerate this position. The most-liked review on the film’s page (as of this writing) reads: "You cannot separate the final product from the abuse that went into making it. There is no 'gaze' that justifies this. It is child exploitation with a Criterion Collection filter."
This tension—art vs. crime—is what keeps the film alive on Letterboxd. Every few months, a new video essayist or true-crime podcaster mentions the film, and a fresh wave of users logs in to register their disgust. No discussion of Maladolescenza on Letterboxd is complete without mentioning Eva Ionesco. The actress, who plays Silvia, was only 11 years old during filming. Her mother, the famous (and infamous) photographer Irina Ionesco, had been photographing Eva in erotic poses since she was a toddler.