Gaspar Noé’s controversial new film Love has been given a 16 rating in France, despite a recommendation that it should receive a higher certificate.
The 3D drama, which features explicit sexual scenes, was originally rated 16, meaning that anyone over that age can buy a ticket, but the French culture minister Fleur Pellerin made the unusual move of stepping in.
Pellerin requested that there be a second review, given the sexual nature of the film. Wild Bunch, who co-produced the film, referred to the decision as an act of “extreme conservatism”. But despite this, the certificate remained the same.
The French directors’ guild also stood by Noé and criticised Pellerin.
“We have nothing to gain from being in the game of conservatism and puritanism,” the guild said in a statement. “The ‘moralisation’ of works, the intimate friend of censorship, is a dangerous game. The filmmakers of ARP remain convinced that poetry, sexual as it is, [from] filmmaker Gaspar Noé, will remain a better educational source than that of porn debauchery permanently available on the internet.”
Speaking after the film’s premiere in Cannes, Noé was keen for the film to receive an even broader certificate. “As soon as you say pornographic, people get scared, but the film talks about people being in love from a sexual stance,” he said. “To represent sex, it’s hard not to film the genitalia.” Noé added: “I think it’ll be banned for those under 16. If I was part of the committee, I would set the age limit at 16, or 12 maybe.”
Love will be released in France on 15 July with a UK date yet to be confirmed.
