'Virgin' recalled from movie theaters

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: The Makassar administration officially recalled on Friday the locally produced movie titled Virgin from theaters here, for an indefinite period, for allegedly containing immoral scenes and dialog.

Makassar Mayor Ilham Arif Siradjuddin said the film was not in line with the local culture and customs.

"The message in the movie is supposedly quite good, but some of the lines and scenes are not appropriate, considering that many of the audience are people under 17 years old," he said.

Protests had come from the Indonesian Ulema Council and the local film community.

Ilham said the ban could be lifted if its audience was restricted to those aged 21 years old and above.

Virgin producer Chand Parwez deplored the decision, considering the fact that the film had already been approved for release by the National Censorship Agency.

Earlier this year, the government banned a romantic film titled Buruan Cium Gue (Kiss me quick) for the same reasons. . -- JP