BEIJING -- Ang Lee’s erotic spy thriller “Lust, Caution” may have lost its more daring sex scenes, but it’s still raising a blush among mainland Chinese auds and breaking new ground on the internet in terms of comments posted.

Some 1.5 million comments were blogged on the Sina website on the pic on November 6, making it the most commented-on film in Sina blog history. The number of comments in the debate about the movie has been rising by 100,000 a day since the Golden Lion-winning pic opened in China.

China’s social mores remain prudish about depictions of sexuality. And in the absence of a classification system, a big issue has been whether the movie is suitable viewing for all.

A large part of the debate is about the film’s sexy content, or rather the lack thereof, since Ang cut seven steamy minutes from the version shown on China’s big screens – in itself an achievement, it must be noted.

The two excised scenes – a scene of brutal sex and one acrobatic coupling – are doing busy trade on websites in China.

The comments posted run the gamut of views, and any similiarity to comments aroused by the screening of “Last Tango in Paris,” “Deep Throat,” or “9 1/2 Weeks,” is entirely coincidental.

“Chinese people are too narrow-minded. This is art. The press makes it out as if it is unbearably obscene. “Lust, Caution” is a good film,” ran one posting.

Another broad-minded webizen wrote: “I don’t understand why in China sex scenes have to be cut out while in the west people just show it.” However, those opposing the film were also set in their beliefs. “When a famous director makes this kind of movie, it’s called art. If it’s done by a nobody, then it’s called porn,” said one blogger. Another said it was a sign that directors and actors were low-class.

“One wants to make money, the other wants fame. It’s a pity they had to ruin such a nice script.”

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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