Censors pass Schindler's List, pending cuts

JAKARTA (JP): The Oscar winning film Schindler's List has been passed by Indonesian censors on the condition that some of the scenes be cut, an official said yesterday.

Soekanto, the executive director of the Film Censorship Board, told The Jakarta Post that in a plenary meeting of the board on Tuesday they decided to allow the film to be screened to the public, "on the condition that pornographic and sadistic scenes are cut."

The plenary meeting was attended by more than half of its 45 members,

"Now we're waiting for a response from the owner and maker of the film. If they insist on having the film shown uncut here, we will give it back to them," Soekanto said. He added that the board expects an answer within two or three days.

Steven Spielberg, the producer of the film which won seven Academy Awards, has stirred controversy in other Southeast Asian capitals after he insisted that Schindler's List be shown uncut or not at all.

The Philippines responded to public pressure by passing the film uncut. Thailand also agreed to pass the film uncut after a stiff debate. However, Spielberg withdrew the film from Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur insisted on cutting some of the scenes.

The film, a dramatized account of a German war-profiteer who saved more than 1,000 Polish Jews from the Nazi concentration camp during World War II, has also caused controversy in Indonesia with some Moslem leaders calling it a Zionist propaganda.

However, Soekanto said that the censorship board did not judge the film in terms of whether or not it propagates Zionist cause. "We censored the film the same way we did any other. We did not give it any special treatment."

The film did not pass the censorship board the first time round when it failed to win a unanimous vote from five board members. This required the issue to be decided by a vote at a plenary meeting.

Soekanto said the vote was valid because 24 members of the board were present at the meeting. Even though the chief of the board, Alex Rio, was absent, the first deputy chief, Kamaluddin, was present and led the meeting.

A source on the board said that seven members voted against passing the film and the rest agreed for its release but subject to normal cuts.

Soekanto declined to say how many parts of the film will have to be cut. "We will have to cut quite a lot before it can be shown to the public," he said. He added that the board could guarantee that the cuts would not affect the story line.

The Association of the Indonesian Importers of European and American Films which imported Schindler's List was not available to comment on the board's decision yesterday. The association was notified of the ruling a day after the meeting. (arf)