A BEIJING moviegoer is suing the nation’s film watchdog in frustration with the censored version of Ang Lee’s steamy World War II drama “Lust, Caution,” domestic media reported Wednesday.

The Golden Lion award-winning film opened on the Chinese mainland last month minus much of the on-screen sex and other scenes that Taiwan-born director Lee cut himself at the behest of local censors.

Dong Yanbin, a Ph.D. student at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, had filed a suit against the nation’s film censor, the State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT), for infringing upon his “consumer rights,” the Beijing Times said.

“I felt greatly disappointed after seeing the movie,” Dong said. “Compared to Eileen Chang’s original, the incomplete structure of ‘Lust, Caution’ and fragmented portrayal of the female lead’s psyche makes it hard for the audience to appreciate the movie’s art,” Dong said.

Dong was seeking apologies and 500 yuan (US$67) in “psychological damages” from both SARFT and UME, the cinema chain showing the movie, the paper said.

UME had violated the audience’s “fair trade rights,” while SARFT had infringed upon “society’s public interest” by failing to implement a rating system that would allow adults to see the film, it quoted Dong as saying.

“Lust, Caution” is open to children and adults alike on the mainland. Despite the cuts, the movie has proved popular on the mainland, reaping 90 million yuan in its first two weeks and being tipped by some to be the year’s biggest box-office success.

But some filmgoers in Guangdong have opted to rush to Hong Kong to watch the uncut version, local media have reported.(SD-Agencies)