Malaysia gay-themed film gets applause at 1st show1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMuslim-majority Malaysia’s first gay romance movie opens with playful scenes of a bare-chested male couple massaging each other on a beach at night
But their euphoria soon evaporates in a story that seeks to placate both conservative government censors and contemporary audiences hungry for edgy material.
“Dalam Botol,” or “In A Bottle,” is a Malay-language film about a man who gets a sex change operation because he thought it would satisfy his male lover, but ends up regretting it. The film earned applause from movie bloggers invited to its first public screening Wednesday, three months before its scheduled nationwide release.
“It’s something new, something different,” said 23-year-old university student Aoron Mikael. “And of course, all the controversy will make people curious to watch it.”
