Pedophilia in Film

Pedophilia is an issue that leaves most people disgusted to a point that it often does not leave room for a better understanding of why an adult would be sexually attracted to a child. Is this a sickness or just a "sick" person? Pedophilia has been introduced into cinema in several movies. The Woodsman is one that actually attempts to take a look at the tormented pedophile who tries hard to resist his urges. It's a well done and highly recommended movie for psychiatric discussion. Other movies like Little Children portray a pedophile more from the better known, visceral reaction of parents and the public. There are still others that leave some room for interpretation such as Let the Right One In. This is an adaptation of a novel by the same title and there is a recent American version called Let Me In. Let Me In takes a very different direction from this point, but the movie is more open to interpretation. The book is direct but takes a very different view of pedophilia. ~~Spoiler Alert~~ In the book the main character is a vampire who is a child living with a pedophile who collects blood for the vampire in exchange for physical intimacy. The movie does not clearly spell out any of this and it is left open to interpretation as to whether this man was actually a boy when he met the vampire and they have travelled together for decades.

Films can portray this issue well and maintain the view from the public that pedophiles are monsters, because that is how they are viewed by the public. If a movie begins to get inside the head of a pedophile, however, then that requires a more balanced approach to be accurate. Another note that is worth making relates to the books/movies Twilight. In those movies, imprinting between the wolves and others almost takes on a pedophilic description as to why an adult would be imprinted on a child. To complete the discussion, Capturing the Friedmans has to enter the conversation. Pedophile or not, this is a great portrayal of how pedophilia tears apart the family of the accused pedophile. I recommend all of these movies, but if you want to take a look at lesser known aspects of pediophile himself, then watch The Woodsman.