UPDATE: The head of the Ministry of Culture’s film department Vyacheslav Tyelnov said the film will be given a 16+ rating. ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS.
First it was a drive-in movie theater in Alabama. Now it’s an entire country in the Eastern hemisphere. Beauty and the Beast is building a lot of buzz for the wrong reasons and the movie isn’t even out yet.
Videos by PopCulture.com
The Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky is considering banning the film from playing in cinemas. The potential blacklist comes after a lot of hullabaloo over the character LeFou after Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon made comments about the sexuality of Gaston’s sidekick.
Condon has gone on to say that LeFou’s sexuality wasn’t explicitly written in the script, but it was a conscious decision, further expanded on in a final scene during which Josh Gad’s character dances with another man. The news has since gone on to receive praise for Disney‘s slow inclusion of LGBTQ recognition to criticism, such as the case of the Henagar Drive-In Theatre in Henagar, Alabama.
But the Kremlin’s decision to ban the film from screening in Russia altogether stems from a 2013 law. While homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993, the newer law made it illegal to spread “propaganda” about “non-traditional sexual relations.”
WATCH: Music Video With Ariana Grande And John Legend
Outside of general criticism of the law, many have said the government abuses its power to allow discrimination and, in some cases, censor representation of LGBTQ communities.
Medinsky has yet to make a decision on the film’s banning, but it is set to premiere in the country on March 16.
Check out some of the other slides to find out about some other films that have been banned in Russia for various reasons.
Child 44
Based on a novel of the same name, this film starred stars such as Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, and Noomi Rapace in a story loosely based on the serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who admitted to murdering at least 56 people.
The film is about Soviet military men conducting the investigation into deaths that have been rule as accidental, but are actually murders. They are only ruled as accidental deaths because of the state’s decree that murder is a symptom of capitalist disease, and that the communist state bears no such illness.
Through coverups and ineptitude, the murderer continues and is only caught when a punished military officer and his civilian ally persist—despite punishment—and prove the serial killer’s existence.
Russian film distributor Central Partnership said the film would not be shown in theaters, but a joint press release with the Ministry of Culture stated that the film distorted facts and people’s depictions, thereby placing it on the list of banned films.
Borat
Sacha Baron Cohen’s financial smash might have committed the egregious crime of spawning countless bad impressions from friends that need to get out more. But apparently the Russian Ministry of Culture found even more wrong with the film.
While the government denies outright banning the film, it was denied a license to be screened. Only the courts can ban a film, but being denied permission to be screened is right along the same lines.
Borat depicted a Kazakh journalist who satirizes United States and Kazakhstan culture through miscommunications and disconnect.
While The character might truly offend Kazakhs who take umbrage with the portrayal, the Russian government found it offensive. Maybe it was the naked dudes wrestling?
Regardless, Borat did not screen in Russian theaters, but still managed to make over $250 million worldwide.
Beauty and the Beast (maybe)
Beauty and the Beast is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.
The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe, the wardrobe; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.
Beauty and the Beast will be released in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017.
MORE: Beast Sings Bonjour To Emma Watson’s Belle / Emma Watson On Who Wins In Harry Potter Vs. Darth Vader Fight / Hear Emma Thompson Sing Beauty And The Beast Theme
[h/t] BBC
