Malaysia's first film with gay lead characters breaks taboo

[Shana A]

Malaysia's first film with gay lead characters breaks taboo

... Dalam Botol shocks conservative politicians but is criticised by gay activists for negative ending

    * Dustin Roasa in Kuala Lumpur
    * guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 March 2011 17.21 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/18/malaysia-first-film-gay-characters

Boy meets boy. Boy falls in love with boy. Boy has a sex-change procedure in a misguided attempt to please his lover. Boy regrets his decision, moves back to hometown and falls in love with a girl.

The plot of ... Dalam Botol (... In a Bottle), Malaysia's first feature film with gay lead characters, is causing a stir in the Muslim-majority country, where consensual sodomy is illegal and depictions of homosexuality in pop culture are taboo.

The film opens next Thursday, but has already provoked the ire of religious organisations.