Page 3244 - Week 11 - Thursday, 12 September 1991
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Most, if not all, of these films can be described from the point of view of most film-goers as specialist films. They would not be seen in their country of origin as specialist films, but for the sake of argument here let us call them that. They are so-called art house cinema films with an appeal, unfortunately, to limited audiences. I wish they had a wider appeal. Often there are short festivals of so-called foreign films. I recall, for example, festivals in recent years of Swedish, Russian, Japanese, Polish, German, Chinese, French and African films. The African film festival tried to take films from many parts of Africa other than South Africa.
These films need not initially go through the long process of being classified by the Commonwealth Chief Censor, although, if eventually intended for general release, they must and should go through the usual process. There is no attempt here to get films in the back door for general release. As an example, consider Jean-Luc Godard's Hail Mary. I will say more on that in a minute. These films under discussion are not necessarily controversial in terms of censorship, although some of them may be, as, indeed, Hail Mary was and is.
Usually, a national cultural affairs program wants to present the best possible films from its film repertoire. It does not want to have mud thrown at its films. I cannot remember a film in those cultural festivals which would or should lead to exclusion. These are not sleaze films; these are not pornographic films. There may be certain scenes, episodes and attitudes which may strike some of us as bizarre or even distasteful, but the films are not designed for the sleaze market. I am recognising that one film in particular, Hail Mary, did create some public disturbance, but even in that case it would have to be said that its overall intent was certainly not pornographic and could be regarded as blasphemous only by a narrow interpretation.
In connection with this Bill I make this general point from my own review of the film when it first appeared in Canberra. I wrote:
Is Hail Mary blasphemous? Should Jean-Luc Godard's extraordinary film have been permitted to enter Australia? Should permission have been given by the Censorship Board for public showings?
Obviously, this was before the matter we are now discussing. I continued:
Should the Board have given it an "R" rating? Will Catholics and other Christians have their faith damaged if they see it? Is it a film worth seeing as a film?
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