Melbourne’s Lido Cinemas has confirmed a one-week encore season of Love, the latest controversial film by Gaspar Noé, following a two week run last month.
This will be the final opportunity for audiences to see the film on the big screen and in 3D. This second theatrical run coincides with the film’s release on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 18.
After sold out sessions at Melbourne International Film Festival and Sydney Underground Film Festival, Lido Cinemas has been the only Australian exhibitor to add the film to its programming, despite (or because of) the Australian Censorship Board giving Love an R-rating and strong consumer advice (scenes of actual sexual activity, graphic nudity and sexual themes).
Elsewhere, Australian distributors Exile Entertainment and Bounty Entertainment have shown the film, shot in confronting 3D, at one-off screenings powered by FanForce, an on-demand screening platform.
The film has generated considerable controversy around the world because of its numerous non-simulated sex scenes, and earlier this week, it was reported that local councils had removed promotional posters for the film, which they deemed “offensive”.
It was alleged that the posters displayed male and female genitalia, which the distributors deny. Says Alexandros Ouzas, director of co-distributor Exile Entertainment, “You introduce a controversial movie, upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos.
“Gaspar Noe is an agent provocateur and you know that people are going to love his work, or find a reason to hate it. The part I find most interesting is that the posters published by the media are not the posters that they allege were distributed. They can’t find them because they don’t exist.
“In any case, we’re thrilled that Lido has backed the film and re-booked it for an encore week. It shows that there are still exhibitors out there committed to the medium. This is a movie that deserves to be seen in the cinema, it’s shot in 3D, the cinematography is striking and it pushes the boundaries."
SYNOPSIS:
Aspiring filmmaker Murphy lives with his girlfriend Omi and their unexpected child, Gaspar, while harbouring deep fantasies about Electra, the woman he left behind. As he revisits the erotically charged memories of their young, reckless love, he must come to terms with the damage wreaked by lust and the sins that led to their downfall