You might reasonably expect a film about a woman being seduced and deflowered, who then embarks on a journey into S&M at the hands of a denim-clad millionaire, to contain at least a modicum of sex. But in Vietnam, cinemagoers have been outraged to discover that the version being screened there has had all of the love scenes removed, leaving only a few kisses.
The film was banned outright in Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia, but was heavily promoted in Vietnam, where the Independent spoke to ticketholders. “It’s totally ridiculous,” one said. “This version is rated 16+, but it doesn’t need an age restriction; a five-year-old could watch it. Even the trailer was sexier. They’d have been better banning it altogether.”
“Everyone was shouting and complaining at each scene that followed an obvious cut,” said another. “They should have had a notice to say it had been edited. No one knew what was going on [in the story], especially if they had no idea about what BDSM is, or if they hadn’t read the book.” The film’s violent climactic scenes were particularly heavily edited, leaving viewers deeply confused and unsatisfied as it ended. The bad word of mouth has turned the film, which has grossed $528m worldwide, into a flop in Vietnam.
The censorship comes as Vietnam struggles to square progressive films and TV with its traditionally conservative outlook. Last year Sex and the City was taken off the air after just five episodes were screened, despite cuts to the racier moments, but slapstick comedy De Mai Tinh 2 recently broke records at the box office, despite having a transgender central character.
Vietnam’s former colonial rulers France couldn’t differ more however, awarding the uncut Fifty Shades of Grey a 12 certificate last month (it has an 18 certificate in the UK). The head of the film board, with a tangible Gallic shrug, described the film as “a romance, you could even say schmaltzy... [it] isn’t a film that… can shock a lot of people.” Last week India became the latest country to ban the film – although all the scenes of nudity were removed, censors still objected to the dialogue.
