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Frameline Film Festival’s Shannon Kelley described the movie as filled with “great dollops of hokum and constant stimulation, creating a totally indulgent, boys-only, gay-only world full of sissies and hunks, sillier and sweeter than Candyland.” While Chen’s idealistic view of gay life may be just what the Taiwan government desires to sway public opinion, not all Asian countries are following suit.

When considering the film’s application for distribution in Singapore, that government’s Film Appeal Committee commented that Chen’s work “creates an illusion of a homosexual utopia" where no negative aspects of the lifestyle are portrayed. Formula 17’s application was therefore denied.

That action might seem to contradict the country’s current “official” stance on gays and lesbians.

Last October, the Wall Street Journal reported that “Singapore's more relaxed attitude toward homosexuality is also part of a broader government strategy to transform the small former British colony into a creative, idea-driven economy. That, Singapore's leaders realize, will require some loosening up, as well as a serious effort to change the world's perception of Singapore as a rigid, authoritarian place.”

But that’s not to say Singapore’s filmmakers haven’t also tried to promote a saccharin view of homosexuality to the public. In 2000 Mickey Chen, an openly gay Taiwanese documentary director in Singapore, produced Boys for Beauty, a film about homosexual Taiwanese youth focusing on three teenagers: a drag dancer, a straight-A student from an upper-class private school, and another from a public school.

The film received much criticism from advocacy groups for failing to address the problems gay teenagers encounter on a day-to-day basis. When asked at a film festival screening to comment about the omission, Chen replied, "I am very protective when it comes to gay society. I only showed those accepted by their families because I wanted to present positive images of homosexuals."

The filmmaker’s apprehension went so far as to omitting any mention of one well-publicized incident in Singapore that happened during the movie’s production. A father discovered his son was gay when he found male pornography in the youth’s room. He confronted the boy by tearing up the magazine and lighting it on fire. He then proceeded to burn his son with the magazine’s flames. While the family agreed to be interviewed by Chen, the filmmaker declined the offer.

Chen is reported saying to Asiaweek.com that “the father acted not from his heart but from the pressures of society." He then said, "I've no right to play God [and judge]. I don't have the right to burn Chinese society."

Fellow Singaporean director Roystan Tan probably doesn’t harbor the same feelings as Chen. His film 15, which garnered top prizes at many of the world’s festivals (including the 16th Singapore International Film Festival), chronicles the lives of five fifteen-year-old boys living on the fringe of society. Acted by real street kids, the movie presents the gritty side of modern-day life that the government wishes to downplay.

Tan employs acid-rock music, montage, animation, and fantasy to portray the tortuous world the kids live in, where the only emotional connection the teens display is through each other. While not inherently gay, the film is highly homoerotic. Not only does it contain drug use, tattooing, body piercing, and gang activity, it also includes male bonding, emotional hugs between the boys, jack-off contests and a scene where one boy measures his friend’s penis with a ruler.

And so Tan’s struggle with censorship began. First off, the director was questioned by the police because of the criminal activity depicted on screen. There were also concerns that the lyrics of the rap songs contained names of real gangs. In the end, the movie was approved, provided Tan cut 20 objectionable moments in the film. But even with the cuts, Singapore’s Film Appeal Committee issued 15 an R rating--meaning it would have only limited theatrical release in the country, no video release and no TV airings.

Fortunately, the U.S. is distributing the film’s uncensored version.

But Tan may have the final cut, in more ways than just with the American distribution. The director has produced a new, short film entitled Cut, which lambastes the Film Appeal Committee. In response to Tan’s newest work, Arts Minister Dr. Lee Boon Yang denounced the film, claiming it was just one of many "unbecoming attempts to undermine the standing of a public institution.”

The minister furthered declared Tan to be a Singapore health risk, saying “It is unhealthy for public officers, who are carrying out their duties, to be subjected to unwarranted ridicule."

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