Fridae

What's the big deal with cock? The censors get their panties in knots just from the mere sight of a penis and the scissors go in a snipping frenzy. Tits and ass are a-ok. Hell, even full-frontal female nudity is doable, but please, no cocks, thank you very much.

I'm convinced this phallus-phobic culture we live in has everything to do with the fact that we live in a male-dominated society. Exploitation of the female body and sexuality is allowed and even encouraged, but naked men are a no-no because that dick on screen could make someone insecure about his little pee-pee. The locker room is already challenging enough for men; having their date see a penis prettier than theirs on-screen would not be their idea of foreplay. This of course isn't just a "Singapore thing." In fact, we probably see more naked male flesh in this tiny city-state than the Americans in their "Land of The Free" multiplexes. Thank god for Europe.

Which brings us to The Dreamers - the brave, sexy new film from acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci. It's 1968 in Paris and the student riots are erupting on the streets.

Matthew (Michael Pitt, Murder By Numbers), a na�ve American exchange student, hooks up with an intriguing set of twins named Theo and Isabelle (Louis Garrel and Eva Green). There's an immediate sense of a three-way attraction, but it's all rather innocent to begin with. They are first drawn to each other by their intense love of cinema, shooting off pop quizzes about Marlene Dietrich, imitating Greta Garbo (in a particularly beautiful sequence with Isabelle perfectly recreating Garbo in Queen Christina), and having debates over whether Keaton (as in Buster, not Michael) or Chaplin was funnier. Then the sexual mind games begin.

The twins' parents go away to the seaside for a month, and Matthew is invited over to stay. First he discovers the brother and sister duo sleeping naked together on the same bed. Then Isabelle makes Theo jerk off on his knees in front of a picture of Garbo as a forfeit. Later, Theo wins a pop quiz and makes Matthew fuck his sister on the kitchen floor while he watches. Suddenly, it's not quite a round of Charades and lemonade anymore.

Two scenes have been snipped for its run here in sunny Singapore, including a scene where Isabelle removes Matthew's pants and finds her picture tucked under his penis. It was a close-up. It's gone. There's still plenty of nudity in the film, all of which are perfectly justified and never gratuitous. And I'm not making a fuss about Michael Pitt's missing cock because I'm a horny little bastard (that's what the Internet is for). I'm angry because it was important to the film and that the censors don't think we should be allowed to look at the male appendage. The other snipped scene, however, featured Matthew's face practically in her bush. Although it's been "reduced," it's still more or less left perfectly intact. The Americans have the film uncut in its original form. It's also rated NC-17, which is what pornography is rated.

The Dreamers is a beautiful, masterful film about innocence, not porn. Cooped up in their apartment, indulging in decadence and sexual experimentation was their own little slice of heaven contrasted with the violence and reality right outside their doorstep. That was innocence. The three of them share a bathtub together, smoking pot and asking to be loved - innocence. Three naked bodies entwined in a tent of bed sheets and pillows, sleeping - innocence.

The film is also perfectly cast. Pitt is a wonder, bringing an aura of naivety and earnestness to what could have been a one-dimensional role. Props to him, as a young, emerging American actor, for having the courage to be part of this film. Green and Garrel, who play the twins, are equally marvelous, with a chemistry so palpable and undeniable, it's scary. They are also sexy as hell.

Four stars (of five). The Dreamers is absolutely marvelous.