The 70th Venice Film Festival is getting ready to return. This time, of all the films invited to attend, perhaps one of the most talked-about work is Kim Ki-duk’s “Moebius.” It has been exactly a year since Kim made headlines with his Golden Lion for “Pieta.” Now, after shaking up the movie industry with the “restricted” rating of his new movie “Moebius,” he will be returning to Venice, this time, for the non-competitive section.

Kim Ki-duk’s “Moebius” will be screened three times in total, beginning on September 3 (local time). It will be screened in its entirety, approximately 90 minutes. After receiving the “restricted” rating from the Korean Media Rating Board (KMRB), the movie was screened by Kim to a specially-invited audience, but even the screened version had to be censored. Hence, the Venice Film Festival will be the first to screen the original version of “Moebius” that cannot be shown in Korea.

During the review by KMBR, “Moebius” was rated “restricted,” which is the same as being prohibited from screening, because of its depictions of sex between immediate family members. Kim Ki-duk re-edited the movie, but again received “restricted” rating in the second round. Only after the third edit and cutting away 2 minutes 30 seconds from the movie was he granted the 19 rating. After all this controversy and delay, the movie will finally be released on September 5. 

This battle in the Korean film industry is already well-known abroad. The foreign movie people are also that much more curious to see how Kim Ki-duk’s daring and acerbic world is portrayed in his latest movie. Kim Ki-duk will soon find out whether the world audience will nod at the KMRB’s decision or at the conflicts surrounding his work.