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- Director sues MPA for new film to receive NC-17 rating: “A form of cultural censorship” -TGN
Director sues MPA for new film to receive NC-17 rating: “A form of cultural censorship” -TGN
The director of Passages berates the MPA for giving the film an NC-17 and accuses the rating body of “cultural censorshipPremiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, Passages tells the story of a long-standing gay couple (Franz Rogowski and Ben Whishaw), and what happens when one of the men has an affair with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Directed by Ira Sachs (Love is strange), the film received critical acclaim following its Sundance debut (as evidenced by its 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and was picked up for distribution in the US by MUBI. However, the film’s prospects took a hit when the Motion Picture Association gave it an NC-17 rating.
In the wake of the surprising and controversial MPAs Passages ruling, Director Sachs speaks out against the rating agency and their decision. Talking to the LA times (through OW), Sachs denounced the MPA for “a form of cultural censorship that is quite dangerous, especially in a culture that already fights in such extreme ways against the possibility of LGBT imagery to existSee what else Sachs had to say in the space below:
We hunger for movies that come close to our own experience. To find a film like this, then be left out, is depressing and reactionary to me. … It’s so 50’s that this is still around. We are talking about a sign that is not visible, that does not announce its rules, that exists in silence. We’re talking about a select group of people who have a certain inclination that seems anti-gay, anti-progress, anti-sex – a lot of things that I’m not.
An NC-17 rating normally means Box Office Death
First implemented in 1990 as a way to replace the stigmatized X, the NC-17 rating is regarded by filmmakers as a kiss of death, as many theaters will not show films that restrict access to those under 17 years of age. Sometimes filmmakers have reshot films to receive an R instead of an NC-17, while others have chosen to release their films unrated. A recent example of a movie that came out with an NC-17 rating was 2022’s Blond, which received only a limited theatrical release before heading to Netflix. A rare past example of an NC-17 movie that was released to theaters uncut and still did decent business was the 1995 movie Show girlswhich took in $37 million despite having the highest MPA rating.
Given how an NC-17 rating limits a movie’s commercial prospects, it’s no surprise that Sachs expressed dismay at the MPAs Passages pronunciation. For their part, MUBI released a statement condemning the decision, stating:
Passages is an honest and groundbreaking portrait of contemporary relationships, both queer and straight. Candid and thoughtful depictions of sex are essential to movie-in-movie storytelling and in the service of representation more broadly. An NC-17 rating suggests that the film’s depiction of sex is explicit or unnecessary, which it is not, and that mainstream audiences will be offended by this depiction, which we also believe is false.
Sachs expressed in his LA times interview that he has no interest in cutting again Passages to get an R rating, saying “There is no disentanglement of the film from what it is.” Passages doesn’t have a US release date yet, and thanks to the MPA, it might be hard to find when it comes out.