Explicit sex scenes in Mexican filmmaker Carlos Reygadas' latest film, Battle in Heaven, proved too hot for Sundance Film Festival officials last week after they abruptly pulled its Jan. 20 screening.
The film's opening and closing scenes of full frontal fellatio were deemed inappropriate by officials of a local high school which adjoins the theater where the screening was to take place, festival officials said.
The film, which features a cast of amateur actors, was scheduled at the Eccles Theatre located in a complex it shares with the school. Although students were barred from the screening, school officials said the noon start time was inappropriate because it would have been during normal school hours.
The screening will be rescheduled.
Battle in Heaven received some acclaim, but was also widely criticized for its graphic sex and nudity at last year’s Cannes film festival.
The film takes place in Mexico City and follows the life of a middle-aged chauffeur who takes up with the prostitute daughter of a Mexican general. It’s scheduled for release nationally in March through Tartan Films.
