20 Most Controversial Movies Since 2000

9. Shortbus

The Pornographer might have kick started the 21st century by causing a bit of a stir with its depiction of unsimulated sex, but Shortbus, released five years later, took on-screen sex to new levels and offered audiences a no holds barred celebration of the diverse sexual lives of New Yorkers, revolving around the visitors to the eponymous salon where experimentation, voyeurism and sexual liberation are openly practiced.

Any movie which features a scene in which two gay men sing the American national anthem whilst pretending their penises are microphones - and hollering into one another's backside - is bound to offend the sensibilities of the more prudish members of any audience, and Shortbus isn't short of further scenes of hardcore sex, penetration and ejaculation throughout its running time. Beyond the explicit scenes, however, lies a delicate portrait of lost souls trying to find someone to connect to in a bit city, and the taste Shortbus leaves after the credits roll is one closer to emotional truths rather than crude and exploitative arousal.