The 2005 office-box hit 'Wang-ui namja' (English working title 'The King and the Clown'), was banned from Chinese cinemas because of its explicit homosexual content. The censors chose to ignore the fact that the movie really is brilliant and agreed only to its release on DVD.

The film, directed by Jun-ink Lee, made more than $85 million in South Korea, selling so many tickets that almost a quarter of the population has already seen it, including the President himself. Unimpressed by figures, Chinese authorities considered the film to be indecent, although the 'sexually explicit' scenes consist of nothing else but of lingering looks between the king and his beloved clown and one short on-screen kiss.

By denying cinema viewing, the censors proved that, for them, homosexuality is still such a major crime that no amount of good acting, extraordinarily penned script, beautiful costumes and settings can surpass. Until 2001, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder in China.

This is not the first occasion that the Chinese have shown themselves openly against public display of homosexual love. Recently, film critics praised Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, despite the fact that, only last year, 'Brokeback Mountain' was declared forbidden to the public.

All in all, 'The King and the Clown' is a must-see, despite what others might think. Without any US cast, the movie manages to reach US and European quality standards (regarding directing, acting, make-up, costumes, music, etc.) and it is sure to captivate its viewer and to make him/her really live the 16th century court drama. As for the Chinese, they might as well settle for the pirated DVDs that are already on sale in all the major stores.