Govt blushes, film fans see red
The erotic movie "Jan Dara", directed by ML Bhandevanop "Mom Noi" Devakula, has sparked yet another censorship debate.
The film received an 18+ rating from the Culture Ministry, which means it’s recommended for viewers age 18 and up. Fair enough, but then the ministry also ordered theatres to check patrons’ ID cards if they were buying tickets for “Jan Dara”.
That’s not normal practice unless the movie has a 20- rating, meaning it’s just too racy for kids.
Mom Noi went to war, publicly proclaiming that the Culture Ministry was overstepping its mandate. Permanent secretary Somchai Sianglai had to admit that his ministry has no power to order ID check, but obviously he’s worried about cinema posing a threat to national morality, so he asked the National Film Board to look into this case. Maybe they’ll have to amend the Film Act of 2007.
So, for now at least, there’s no enforced ID checks for “Jan Dara”, even though some theatres still have notices posted that customers must have their identity cards ready for inspection.
Movie buffs are in an uproar regardless, and Sahamongkol Film head honcho Somsak “Sia Jiang” Techaratanaprasert is furious. “Damn!” he exclaimed, calling the ministry’s actions “barbaric”.
“This is damaging and it affects our income. I was going to sue the theatre operators and the ministry, but at least now they’re not checking IDs.”
Sia Jiang had by then pulled “Jan Dara” out of theatres where ages were being checked and blasted the ministry for treating his film like it was “rated X”.
“If they think our film should be re-rated, they should have contacted me directly instead of instructing or asking theatre operators to perform ID checks. And I can’t accept that, four years after the rating system was implemented, the ministry still has no clue that it has no authority to check ID cards for 18+ films.”
Sia Jiang slammed the ministry for its “knee-jerk” reaction. “You can’t just change the rules. This is unacceptable.”
