Ang Lee’s new movie Lust, Caution may be too lusty for the Chinese. Or maybe they’re just grossed out by the gratuitous display of pre-grooming, over-grown bush. Either way, they’re giving Ang trouble about showing his new movie in China. Variety reports the movie’s Chinese release date has been pushed back to November 1st, while they wait for a censorship review they have to pass.
Clearly, the Chinese government has a lot to learn about freedom of speech. If they were smart, they’d handle it the way we do here in American. Develop a bogus ratings system that let’s you slap it with a rating so harsh that no one will ever see the movie anyway. It’s as good as censorship, only without all that annoying bad press.
But, the movie’s producers seem confident that they’ll get the movie through. To be fair, the Chinese haven’t actively turned down the film yet, apparently they just haven’t gotten around to watching it. So what we may have here isn’t so much censorship, but typical government efficiency. I’d blame that on communism, but if you’ve been to the DMV lately then you know capitalism’s really no better in that respect.
As Variety points out, though the film is laden with a long scene or two of gratuitous, unnecessary, and gross nudity in the middle, most of it is spent on a pro-Chinese government political message which should be right up those repressive bastards alley. Which will it be? Censor sexuality or promote blind patriotism? That popping sound you just heard is a Chinese’s censor’s head exploding.
