L'immoralita is a rather dull thriller-drama with some interesting moments. A child molester-killer who is on the run from the police, coops up with an extremely dysfunctional family consisting of a paraplegic and impotent father, sexually frustrated mother and their strange and sexually curious girl child.The director was interested in making a thriller - this aspect of the film is emphasized by the gangsters and the policeman who are out to get the child molester. But they came across as too cheesy. Their roles were ill conceived. The film works better as an intense drama with strong sexual elements.The conversations between the small girl and her father in which they refer to nature and animals offers some clues to the films themes. When the father says every action has a reaction, the girl responds, saying she understands - "it is like punishment at school, the worse the crime the harsher the punishment" This response foreshadows the film's ending.The aviary in the garden is used as a pretty blatant metaphor.Morricone's idyllic sounding score is used in many scenes by the director. It is such a simple melody on a piano, succeeded and punctuated by the violins and Edda Dell Orso's singing.I wouldn't really recommend this film. Some people seem to be interested in it due to the graphic sex scenes. I did not find them to be titillating.Lisa Gastoni is very good as the cruel and sexually frustrated mother. Karen Trentephol's (the child actress) performance is worth mentioning.

L'Immoralita is a film that is difficult to pigeon hole into one 'type' of film, but suffice to say it's an entertaining and well worked thriller with enough substance to satisfy most viewers, providing they can stomach the sometimes uncomfortable tone of the movie. Almost everything about the film really is rather detestable and as such the characters are hard to care for; making watching the film akin to watching a car crash at times. The film begins with a scene that sees a man carrying the body of a dead girl before burying her, and then being pursued by a bunch of people with guns. This man turns out to be Federico; a murderer and paedophile, wanted for killing children. Wounded, he bumps into a young girl who he befriends after she offers him shelter. The girl lives with her parents; the mother, lauded as the town slut, and her dilapidated father who is rotting away in a wheelchair. The murderer and the child grow closer together despite the law being after him and the pair develops a friendship that is shattered when the mother discovers the sheltered criminal.This film is not easy viewing and features certain things that go over and above what I'd call 'bad taste' - a sex scene between a man and an eleven year old girl stands out in particular. There's not a real point to the film as such and it's more of a character study with the character's decisions providing the main points of interest. The two adults of the central cast have very distinct elements about their personality that are very easy to dislike, while even the young girl is the not the sweetness and innocence that you would expect. The way the plot moves is not completely typical and the film does veer off down paths you would not necessarily expect, and that does ensure the film remains interesting throughout. Credit has to go to director Massimo Pirri for keeping the film firmly in 'high class' territory - with a plot like this, it would have been easy for him to have ended up making a trash film. It all boils down to a typically shocking conclusion and while this film definitely won't float everybody's boat, it is a very interesting thriller one that is definitely worth seeing.

When I started watching this film I wasn't expecting too much. I thought I was going to hate it according to what I had read, but I decided to give it a try. It surprised me! It was a really good film with a very original story. Being an Italian low profile production it managed to be suspenseful and interesting.The acting was good enough, especially the actress portraying the mother. And I loved Simona, the kid, and rooted for her all the time. By the way, the piano score was very nice and followed the story perfectly.I don't want to spoil the movie because I think it really deserves to be watched. So if you like good drama with an original story (something hard to find these days) go for this one!

i picked up a copy of this movie at an old Italian owned video store, completely unaware of what i was about to witness for the next 90 minutes or so. what originally sparked my interest in this 70's obscurity was the box cover artwork, which was basically a black cover with a large keyhole in the center - a single eye looking through it. simple, but effective enough to get my $2 for a weekly rental.i'll never quite be able to fathom what the state of mind was like in the 70's, particularly in Italy (the origin of this film). i'm simply left speechless when i see a film like this. not that it was good. it was downright sleazy, and altogether badly done. but what concerns me here is the film's content.in brief, a escaped killer (supposedly child killer) befriends a young girl of roughly 12 years of age. she takes him to her house in a beautiful remote part of the countryside, and hides him in the basement. her mother (a widow, or divorced?) soon learns of his presence in the house, and they eventually become lovers. but it is only to be short lived as this killer will soon meet his fate.what strikes me about this film is not only the explicit content, but a brief sex scene between the killer and the young girl, which she (the character) willingly participates in (its obviously a body double, but still!?) ... i was truly shocked. and its no wonder this film faded quickly into obscurity.my question is: how did a film like this ever get made? who were the people who financed this film, and others like it? it seems that for a brief while (in that decade where anything went) if you could conceive a story so depraved, and so totally wrong, there was a good chance of getting it made.i don't recommend this film to anyone. it would only hold interest to those who have a Lolita-fetish, or collectors of hard-to-find movies. in any case, just remember: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS FILM!