Veteran director accuses Middle England of being 'obsessed by bad language' as The Angels' Share scrapes a 15 certificate
The team behind The Angels' Share, Britain's sole hope in the race for this year's Palme D'Or, has launched an attack on the "hypocrisy" of the British Board of Film Classification, which demanded the removal of several instances of the word "cunt" from the film – a whisky-heist comedy set among working-class Glaswegians.
According to director Ken Loach, pictured, discussions with the film censor entered the "world of surrealism". He said: "We were allowed seven cunts… but only two of them could be aggressive cunts."
Scriptwriter Paul Laverty said that the BBFC was insensitive to the context of the word's use. "'You wee cunt' is often a term of endearment," he said. "But [the BBFC] transpose it as if it were on a public address system at the Royal Opera. They take it out of context. They have an obsession with that word.
"There are many films they have given a 15 certificate to that I think are full of pornographic violence or racism or cruelty that is not fit for 15-year-olds, and they show that with no problem at all, so I think there is tremendous hypocrisy."
A spokesperson for the BBFC said that it is the public who "repeatedly tells us that strong language is an issue".
She added: "There are numerous cases where film-makers make changes to achieve a lower classification and other cases where they do not make changes and a higher classification is accepted. The choice is always that of the film-maker and distributor."
But Loach's long-time producer Rebecca O'Brien said it was "offensive" that the film was allowed a maximum of seven instances of the word in order to secure it a 15, rather than an 18 certificate – especially when "we have made films with heavy scenes of torture and with water-boarding and fingernails being pulled out and they have been given a 15 certificate."
"The language in the film is the language these young people speak," she added. "It's completely natural. The language of Middle England, which the BBFC represents, is completely different. And I think if they are looking for diversity in Britain they should look no further than this film and Glasgow and see there are different ways of speaking that should be acceptable to all and sundry and should not be censored."
Loach, the veteran director of classic films such as Kes, and winner of the Palme D'Or with The Wind that Shakes the Barley in 2006, said: "The British middle-class is obsessed by what they call bad language. The odd oath, like a word that goes back to Chaucer's time, they will ask you to cut. But the manipulative and deceitful language of politics they use themselves. So I think we should re-examine what we mean by bad language and have respect for our ancient oaths and swear words which we all enjoy."
The Angels' Share begins at Glasgow Sheriff Court, where a group of young people – including father-to-be Robbie – are being jailed. When a community service supervisor takes them on a rare trip out of the city to a distillery, Robbie discovers that he has a rare palate for whisky – and a chance to change.
Paul Brannigan, 24, who plays Robbie, was spotted by Loach and scriptwriter Laverty when he was working in a Glasgow community centre. Like his character, he had spent time in prison and has a "pretty rough" background, but, as a young father, was seeking to turn his life round. Getting the role "saved me", he said.
Although Brannigan is currently unemployed aside from a few hours' football coaching a week, he has already starred in a second film – this time opposite Scarlett Johansson.
Loach has made careers for non-professional actors in the past – notably Martin Compston , who starred in Sweet Sixteen in 2001, and has gone on to take numerous roles in film and TV.
Brannigan has a seduction scene with Johansson in Under the Skin , Jonathan Glazer's much-anticipated film of Michel Faber's novel, due out later this year. "We had a few scenes where I was chatting her up," said Brannigan. "I take my clothes off – she doesn't take her clothes off. It was fun… to be honest she was an absolutely fantastic girl. I was quite nervous at first, but once I got talking to her she was fine."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/may/22/ken-loach-bbfc-hypocritical
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