Sure to be one of the mot controversial mainstream film releases of 1998, Lars von Trier's Dutch film The Idiots, to be released this fall in the United States by Universal Pictures' art film division October Films (the same company that will release the long-awaited Orgazmo in September), includes an orgy scene that depicts fully erect penises and actual hardcore penetration, which is completely visible. This film was in the main competition for the Palme d'Or at the 51st International Festival du Film, held here in May.\n Von Trier, who directed last year's sensational Breaking the Waves, which earned Emily Watson a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, has been a unique visionary for years, shocking audiences with most of his films. This cinema vÈritÈ film, about a commune whose residents act out some inner anxieties by pretending to be idiots in public, is a funny, unusual and almost indescribable picture. Nudity and sex abound, though the film is about much more.\n A key birthday party scene has the makings of a porno orgy, as at least 10 completely naked cast members grope and have sex, with open vaginas and hard penises in perfect view. And hardcore fucking is prominently displayed in a film that surely will be edited before the American release.\n Only if von Trier has final cut on the American version will audiences see the courageous, daring scene. If not, perhaps the scene will make it to the DVD release.\n The film, which played in Cannes in competition in the main theater at the Palais, as well as several market screenings, received a loud ovation at the afternoon screening at the largest theater in Cannes, though there were several walkouts after the orgy scene. The film won no awards at the festival.
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