ITALIANS TUNING in to their state TV this week had a chance to see Brokeback Mountain, the tale of true friendship between two straight cowboys.
At least that was the version of Ang Lee’s gay cowboy Oscar-winner broadcast by channel Rai Due. Two love scenes had been excised, provoking furious accusations from gay-rights groups of censorship driven by creeping homophobia in Italy.
“The need to change a film about homosexual love into a film about simple male friendship says a lot about the current cultural climate,” said Franco Grillini, president of Gaynet.
The cuts – involving a kiss between actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal and a love scene in a tent – came days after the Vatican attacked an EU proposal for the UN formally to condemn discrimination against gay people.
Rai on Tuesday claimed the cuts were an honest mistake and promised to broadcast the full version of the film. – (Guardian service)