Washington
(ANI):
About
30
minutes
of
sex
and
violence
scenes
will
be
cut
from
director
Ang
Lee's
thriller
'Lust,
Caution" to
make
it
suitable
for
audiences
on
the
Chinese
mainland,
reports
the
State
media.
The
film
is
set
in
the
Thirtees,
and
it
portrays
a
sexually
explicit
relationship
between
a
young
female
spy,
played
by
Tang
Wei,
and
a
powerful
political
figure
(actor
Tony
Leung)
set
against
the
backdrop
of
turbulent
Japanese-occupied
Shanghai
during
WWII.
Lee
says
that
the
shorter
version
of
the
flick
is
reasonable.
However,
he
feels
that
even
the
real
version
of
the
film
would
not
have
caused
Chinese
audiences
to
feel
"so
uneasy" and
"shocked".
Earlier,
his
film
'Brokeback
Mountain"
had
been
banned
in
China,
owing
to
its
overt
homosexual
themes.
China
does
not
have
a
ratings
system,
which
may
help
make
films
appropriate
for
all
potential
audiences
there.
A
representative
for
Hong
Kong-based
co-producer
Edko
Films
said
that
Lee
had
shortened
the
film
himself
from
its
original
156-minute
length,
in
order
to
protect
its
integrity.
China"s
Film
Bureau
has
approved
the
edited
version
of
the
movie,
a
bureau
spokesperson
has
said.
Lee
said
he
"took
pains
to
cut
it" because
he
"attached
much
importance
to
the
Chinese
market,"
the
Hollywood
Reporter
quoted
a
Xinhua
report
as
stating.
"It
is
a
pity
that
China
has
no
ratings
system.
It
is
unsatisfying
when
a
film
is
censored,
like
getting
an
apple
that
already
has
a
bite
taken
out
of
it,"
said
Jimmy
Wu,
chairman
of
Beijing-based
production
company
China
Vision
Group.
He
said
that
a
rating
system
would
provide
for
the
protection
of
young
people
from
adult
movies
as
well
as
an
allowance
for
adults
to
view
movies
with
a
more
mature
theme.
He
further
said
that
the
delayed
theatrical
release
date
and
censorship
could
heighten
piracy
and
reduce
box-office
returns.