By PETER CALDER
A French film which a morals group tried to stop from screening in a cult film festival will open in Auckland and Wellington next week after its rating was relaxed by the Office of Film and Literature Classification.
Chief Censor Bill Hastings has cleared the film, Irreversible, which contains a nine-minute rape scene, for screening to audiences over 18 in cinemas or in tertiary institutions for study purposes.
It remains banned from video release.
Cinemas must display the censor's warning that the film contains "brutal sexual violence, graphic violence and sex scenes".
The office "strongly recommends" that exhibitors provide numbers for Rape Crisis and sexual abuse services at the end of the film and warn viewers about the film's dizzying sound and strobe lighting effects.
Irreversible, which screened in competition at Cannes in 2002, is a formally inventive film, presented in reverse chronological order, with 12 scenes consisting of 12 unedited shots.
But it is more notable for its content. A brutally explicit revenge drama, it shows the murderous aftermath (before the event) of an appalling rape. Both events are graphically depicted.
Irreversible has been released commercially in 24 countries including Australia, Britain and the US.
Last year, the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards unsuccessfully sought an injunction to prevent the only scheduled screening of the film, in the Beck's Incredible Film Festival, which would effectively have banned it from public screening since it was classified only for festivals.
The society's president, Mike Petrus, said it was seeking leave to appeal against the reclassification.
The film is due to open at Rialto Cinemas in Auckland and Wellington on Thursday.
'Brutal' French film cleared for viewing
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.