Film with nine-minute rape scene is passed by censors

A French film described as the most controversial of the year for its nine-minute rape scene was yesterday passed without any cuts by British censors.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) awarded Irréversible an 18 certificate after a clinical forensic psychiatrist advised that it would not harm viewers.

The film was seen as a challenging inauguration for Sir Quentin Thomas, who had just been appointed the BBFC's president when it was submitted for classification in August.

Gaspar Noé, its director, had said he would rather see Irréversible banned than accept cuts to a film which he described as significantly less dangerous than American war movies. Facing a potential row, the board, which takes a tough stance on scenes which are seen to endorse or eroticise violence, decided to call in expert evidence.

The psychiatrist agreed with the board that it was "a harrowing and vivid portrayal of the brutality of rape". But the film contained no explicit sexual images and was not designed to titillate. "The board recognised that elements in the film may be shocking and (for many viewers) unpleasant. These, however, are not by themselves reasons for censoring them for adults," a spokeswoman said.

But the board will re-consider the potential for harm if the film is submitted for home video release, where the rape scene could be seen out of context and viewed repeatedly.

Irréversible stars Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci in a story in which the audience only gradually understands the significance of a series of events as they are told in reverse. Key scenes were filmed in long, single takes which would have made them difficult to cut. The rape, which comes in the middle of the film, was not the only cause for concern. Some critics walked out of screenings at film festivals in Cannes and Edinburgh, horrified by scenes in which a man is battered to death with a fire extinguisher in a sex club.

Hamish McAlpine of Metro Tartan, the British distributors, said he was delighted the film had been passed but was "disturbed" at the possibility that it might require cuts for video release. "If you shorten the violence it becomes far less shocking and you lose the whole point of the film, which is anti-violence," he said. Earlier this year, the board demanded cuts to the video version of another French film, Catherine Breillat's A Ma Soeur, which features the rape of a girl aged 12. It feared that paedophiles could use it to "groom" children.

But Mr McAlpine pointed out that A Ma Soeur was available on video across Europe and North America. "Similarly, if cuts are made to Irréversible, which will be available on video uncut in every other European country, it will only be the British consumer who will suffer," he said.

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Metro Tartan said Irréversible had been passed uncut throughout Europe and with a 16 rather than an 18 certificate in France. But the BBFC said different rules applied on classification elsewhere – and only two films had ever been given an 18 certificate in France, which suggested different standards applied.