Films can be banned for any number of reasons whether it be political or due to the graphic content included.
One film however was banned from four different countries for its unsimulated portrayal of intimate acts and is so controversial it was banned in four countries.
This is not the first film to have been banned for this reason, with one film banned in multiple countries including a scene in which the director’s girlfriend performs an intimate act on another actor.
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What adds to the controversy with this film is that the unsimulated sex scene takes place between the main character and her on-screen son.
The film, called Pink Flamingos and is directed by someone you probably recognise without even realising it.
John Waters is the man behind the camera and is a recognisable face even if viewers wouldn’t be able to place where exactly from.
The film follows a drag queen Divine who lives as the ‘filthiest person alive’, a moniker she lives up to until she is confronted by two criminals jealous that she has been judged to be even more filthy than them.
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The movie does not shy away from showing Divine carrying out that moniker as she eats dog s**t (which is also unsimulated), murders people (thankfully this part is simulated), and in the most shocking scene in the film, carries out unsimulated oral sex on her on-screen son.
Whilst it’s very important to note that the actors are of course not related, acts of simulated incest are shocking enough to be memorable, let alone a version of it where it genuinely happened between the two actors playing parent and son.
The BBFC warns that 'a man's semen is seen, in close-up detail' and that 'there is focus on a man's dilating anus, in close-up detail' - so maybe it's not something to watch with your parents.
When the movie released it was banned in Switzerland and Australia as well as being banned in certain places within Canada and Norway.
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Reviews were beyond harsh, with Variety saying it was ‘one of the most vile, stupid and repulsive films ever made’.
Legendary film critic Roger Ebert was also hugely critical of the film, saying at a 25th anniversary screening of the film that 'with any luck at all that means I won’t have to see it again for another 25 years'.
He went on to add: "If I haven’t retired by then, I will."
Waters took this criticism in stride, using Variety's quotes to promote the poster for the film, and it has slowly over time become a cult classic.
One review of the film on IMDb summarised the main reactions well, saying that it was ‘outrageously sick, disgusting and grotesque’ but also very funny.
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If you try to watch it in the UK however there are very limited options, with it not featuring on any streaming sites.
On top of that physical production of the film is limited with many of the versions online being region locked to the US.
Your best bet is to splash out £20+ on the Criterion Collection 4k restoration blu-ray - if you're willing to go to that much trouble to watch someone eat dog poo and have unsimulated oral sex.
Topics: TV and Film, Film
Michael Slavin