'Brüno' Gets Banned in Ukraine

Wednesday

15Jul2009

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 7:55PM

A note to our readers in Ukraine: Wait for the DVD. And make sure it's sent in an inconspicuous package. The culture ministry in that country has banned Sacha Baron Cohen's new comedy Brüno on the grounds that it is "immoral."

In particular, the offending scenes included displays of sex organs, gay intercourse, and plenty of bad language. The film was scheduled to be distributed this weekend in Ukraine, but the ministry told the international distributor, Singergia, that the film was a no go. Variety suggests the ban comes in an effort to avoid offending highly religious members of the population. Boy, what is this, Russia? (Sorry, but who could resist the joke?)

This isn't the first time Cohen has run into this kind of problem: Borat was banned in Kazakhstan and Russia, although for different reasons. That had to do primarily with his jibes made at the country of Kazakhstan.

Of course, Cohen relies on this kind of controversy. News of a ban in Ukraine has almost certainly sold a ticket in the U.S. And Brüno is nearing that point where it will be in the black, even though it's in a bit of a box office freefall based on day-to-day numbers.

One thing to watch from this point on is the piracy numbers in Ukraine, which isn't the biggest market for illegal downloads, but per capita it's a pretty thriving industry there already.

Colin Boyd |

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