April 24, the most explicit film allowed hits Australian cinemas. Baise-Moi (renamed Rape Me in the US) has been given an R-18+ rating, but it will be shown uncut. Rather surprisingly, Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification has not imposed a ban on Baise-Moi. Surprising, since in 2000 Romance, another French film which showed actual sex, not simulated sex, met with an OFLC ban. In contrast, Baise-Moi has got a go-ahead-and-shock-me.
(For now, that is. I imagine the usual puritans are rallying around their pristine white banners. [Australian note: Senator Harradine is building up his usual mouthful of froth.] For myself, I can’t hardly wait. Not to see the film, but to tune into talkback radio and read the letters to the editor. There’ll be Bob Fraser from Carlisle and Mavis McMahon from Wagga and a great gnashing of teeth. It’ll be great!)
Let’s backtrack. I should rephrase my first sentence: Baise-Moi is the most sexually explicit film allowed to Australian cinemas. Without even seeing Baise-Moi, I can guarantee I’ve seen a dozen films more explicit. I’ve seen graphic murder, rape and a thousand physical assaults. It’s been said a thousand times before, but maybe it’s true: to allow vicious physical violence into our cinemas, but at the same time ban actual sex is a massive hypocrisy. It’s irrational and patronising and demeaning to cinema-goers.
While we’re on hypocrisy, lemme send a huge :rolleyes: to the general policy of censorship in Australia. Under an R-18+ rating, actual sex is a no-no, but simulated sex is yes-yes (YES! :p). Rid-dic-errous! I am permitted to see people striving their utmost to convince me they are having sex, but I can’t view people who are actually (gasp!) doing the ugly? (And here’s a preemptive thwap! to the back of the head of the first person who draws the analogy that showing a staged murder is okay, but clearly actual murder should be impermissible. :)).
So where am I going with this? Oh, that’s right, opinions and the such. Australians: do you think this is sign that we are becoming less censorious. Foreign types: How did this movie fare in the US and in Europe? What do y’all think about the inevitable furore that bursts over this movie and its like? And finally, is the movie any good? 
Mods: I struggled over where to throw this thread. First, I intended a thread a la Cafe. Then it turned a little BBQ-ish. Then a little GD’y. It’s ended up back at the Cafe anyway… one thousand apologies if this aint no good.
