Chinese censors 'ban' Brokeback

[Rachel]

Oscar favourite Brokeback Mountain has been effectively banned from cinemas in China, it has been reported.

Censors ruled the gay cowboy romance too controversial to be shown in the country where homosexuality is a taboo, industry paper Daily Variety said.

Brokeback Mountain - by Taiwanese director Ang Lee - is a firm favourite to be among the Oscar nominations when they are revealed in the US on Tuesday.

The film stars Australian Heath Ledger and US actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Geisha film

So far the film has dominated the 2006 Hollywood awards season, taking the best drama honours at the Golden Globe awards and winning the Producers Guild of America's top award.

Also unlikely to show in China is director Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha, Variety added.

While China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television approved the film for distribution, senior government officials reversed the decision amid controversy over ethnic Chinese actors playing Japanese characters.

Anti-Japanese sentiment also remains strong in China, which was subject to Japan's occupation of the country until the end of World War II.

Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the best-selling novel by Arthur Golden, stars China's Gong Li and Ziyi Zhang.

Source: BBC News

What a surprise

[Lux]

anti japanese sentiment remains strong because they brutally murdered many chinese people. it is also fueled by that fact that the japanese government has not formally apologized for it. or recognized it.

it's odd how Memoirs is SO popular despite how the lead actress isn't japanese..i guess it doesn't matter beacuse she could look like either. it's all mainstream cinema anyway. an unknown actress wouldn't garner enough hype and box office $ for this kind of movie. but gong li is amazing. she is basically the sharon stone of china. despite the rave reviews i won't bother seeing this anytime soon..the cinematography is amazing, but it does not surpass or even come close to the book.