The Danish erotic drama Nymphomaniac has passed the Ministry of Culture’s censors without a single cut, mosaic or black bar to protect viewers’ innocence.
Spread out over two volumes, the four-hour film by Danish director Lars von Tier is set to be released in Taiwan on Friday with an “R” rating, meaning no admittance for viewers under 18.
The move by the nation’s relatively conservative censors means local audiences will be the first in Asia to see the whole film in theaters.
Film critic Hsi Kuan-chieh lauded the generous treatment, praising the ministry’s respect for the director and his work.
In an article released on Tuesday, Hsi implored the government to implement Taiwan’s four-tier ratings system, instead of removing content from the film.
Under the system, anyone under 18 is barred from seeing an R-rated film, while PG films are deemed suitable for viewers aged 12 and older, P films for those aged six and up, and G-rated features seen as appropriate for all ages.
While R-rated films are not uncommon in Taiwan, censors usually use mosaics or black bars to chasten scenes they deem excessively violent or sexual, sometimes cutting them out altogether.
Nymphomaniac, which tells the story of a middle-aged woman’s sex-charged life, has received generally positive reviews since it premiered in Denmark on Dec. 25 last year.
The English-language film stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard and Stacy Martin, and features Uma Thurman, Shia LaBeouf and Christian Slater.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
RSS