SOME LIKE IT HOT?: The Last Painting May Be Too Steamy To Handle By India’s Upcoming International Film Festivals

Will any of the International Film Festivals in India screen The Last Painting, a critically acclaimed film from Taiwan about a temperamental artist and his muses?...

Karam Chand

Thu Oct 26 2017, 19:00:39 193328 views

The international film festival season is upon us -- a showcase of world cinema, where films from different parts of the world are exempt from censorship.

Mumbai’s MAMI festival is already done.


The Last Painting Poster

International festivals will be held in the weeks to come in Goa (organised by the government’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting), plus there will be similar events in Thiruvanthapuram, Kolkata and Pune.

Now the question is: will any of these festivals screen The Last Painting, a critically acclaimed film from Taiwan about a temperamental artist and his muses?


The Last Painting

Sexually volatile, besides blending in comments about politics and violence, it is learnt that the film has been submitted as an entry to some of the festivals.

However, insiders say that The Last Painting is too graphic in its depiction of sex, including a same-gender liaison. A scene which depicts the gouging out of a woman’s eyes may prove to be far too excessive, even for a festival going audience accustomed to shock tactics and nudity.

Screened in Netherlands, at the Rotterdam festival earlier this year, a review stated, “At moments graphically grisly, at others sexually raunchy, the film by Chen Hung-I, has a distinct touch of an ‘80s erotic thriller, with a complex, sometimes confusing storyline. But it’s crammed with enough ideas to fuel a whole Film Studies course on Genre and Gender, with a glamorous sheen that could take it onto a wider canvas than the Asian distribution scene.”


The Last Painting

On another note altogether, our former chief of the Central Board of Film Certification Pahlaj Nihalani, in a fit of bravado, had stated that the films at international festivals in India, would have to be scrutinised by the CBFC. This would have been in contravention to the rules of any leading film festival in the world. Fortunately, Nihalani’s diktat has evaporated with his exit from the hot seat.

Nihalani or no Nihalani, strong chances are that The Last Painting will not find a slot at the upcoming festivals.

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