Controversial movies are nothing new, but Trainspotting, which is quickly attaining cult status in Britain, is sure to create a fuss wherever it is shown.
Something of a British equivalent to Drugstore Cowboy, it is based on the novel by Irvine Welsh and follows the fortunes of a group of Scottish heroin addicts.
It has, inevitably, come in for a bashing from British tabloids for its alleged romanticising and glamorisation of squalid drug addiction.
However, the makers of the film claim they merely wanted to offer audiences a realistic representation of what attracts people to such a lifestyle (and there must be an attraction, otherwise they wouldn't do it), without resorting to the usual desperate, would-steal-their-own-granny's-pension junkie stereotypes.
I suspect the film is unlikely to hit the major cinema circuits in Hong Kong, if it makes it here at all, so we may have to wait until it goes to video to judge for ourselves. In the meantime we can make do with the film's soundtrack, which is an eclectic, if rather good, collection of old and new tracks.
The opener is Iggy Pop's feel-good Lust for Life, and the gnarled old punker makes the only return appearance on the album with Nightclubbing. There are also excellent tracks from Brian Eno (the Hawaiian-flavoured Deep Blue Day ), New Order (Temptation ) and Primal Scream (Trainspotting ).
Lou Reed's Perfect Day (shouldn't it have been Heroin or Waiting for the Man?) is always a fine listen, and is reportedly used provocatively in the movie during an overdose scene.