Ira Sachs wanted to make ‘a film of intimacy.’ It got him an NC-17 rating

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Ira Sachs never set out to make an NC-17-rated film. After the pandemic, the New York-based indie filmmaker was compelled to create, as he says, “a film of intimacy.” The result is a sexy but brutal love-triangle drama starring Franz Rogowski, Adèle Exarchapoulos and Ben Whishaw. Though nothing graphic is ever shown, the lingering lovemaking scenes led the Motion Picture Association to slap “Passages” with an NC-17 rating. Sachs is highly critical of the decision, calling it homophobic, outdated and disconnected from the essence of his film. In an interview, Sachs says “the censorship of queer images exists from top to bottom” in the film industry.