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Censors refuse to ban film depicting real sex

See it before it is banned!

That provocative advertising slogan helped the controversial French film Anatomy of Hell take close to $50,000 in cinemas over the past week.

But when the appeal against the R18+ rating was heard yesterday, the Classification Review Board went against the script.

It decided last night to retain the rating, rejecting appeals by the Australian Family Association and the South Australian Attorney-General, and merely toughened the consumer advice for the release. It now says Anatomy of Hell includes "actual sex, high-level sex scenes and high-level themes".

The 3-1 decision was a victory for common sense, considering director Catherine Breillet's drama has been treated by many critics as a serious statement on female sexuality.

Starring the Italian porn star Rocco Siffredi and Amira Casar, it centres on a woman who pays a gay man to study her body.

The distributor, Mark Spratt, of Potential Films, was relieved: "I'm pleased that they have recognised both the merits of the film and the right of the public to judge for themselves." Mr Spratt said the box office takings had been inflated by the possible ban.

The provocative advertising for the film has attracted some criticism within the cinema business.

"The distributor of that film specialises in taking films that are likely to be banned essentially as a marketing ploy," said one cinema operator, citing controversies over Baise Moi and Romance as previous examples. "The interest generated is often men in raincoats."

[original article]

Posted by thinkum at July 7, 2004 12:32 PM