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Scarlett Johansson's 'Under the Skin' debuts in Venice

South Korean movie 'Moebius' debuts in Venice

Kim's tale of sex and pain, which starts with a woman cutting off her teenage son's genitals, is punctuated with cries of agony, rage and arousal, but barely any dialogue.

The mutilated young man and his father experiment with masochism and the son develops a relationship with the father's ex-mistress.

"While purporting to explore morality and mortality by tracking its male protagonists' pursuit of sexual gratification, Moebius offers bizarrely cartoonish characters whose erratic behavior brims on the hilarious," said critic Clarence Tsui in trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter.

Kim has made a redacted version of the film to be shown in Korea, where authorities wanted to protect people who have not reached "psychological maturity", he said at a news conference.

"The problem of censorship will have to be tackled in the future," said Kim, whose film "The Isle" made two people faint when it was presented in Venice in 2000.

Kim said he is reproached for making violent films that seem to attack Korea.

"I criticize my country because I love my country. Loving my country doesn't mean that I should stop raising questions or that I should close my eyes," he added.

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