Lets not compare the USA with Iran or Saudi Arabia. Practically all movies that are rated Restricted in the states are rated 13+ in Canada (well Quebec really) so I can just imagine what kind of rating Blue will get in the the US. Unless there's no swearing, of course, lol!
OK, so 13- through 17-year-old Americans can't see some movies in theaters
unless accompanied by parents, that Quebecois of those ages can go see without bringing their parents along. That rule, BTW, has never kept my teenage sons from finding their way into movies on their own that would be way too much for me (mostly because of violence). But sure, it does exist.
That's pretty different, though, from your "Too bad Americans won't see the original version in theatres."
I agree that the ratings system here is fucked up in some ways. It is stricter about sex than violence, it is homophobic, and it is ridiculous about swearing. And I guess you could argue that a 13-year-old should be able to watch graphic scenes of adults having sex, although I can't say I'm convinced that their lives are all that ruined if they have to wait a few years or have their parents join them or wait until it comes out on DVD. This from a mom, by the way, whose kids have been seeing R-rated movies since they were about 10. (They grew out of kiddie movies early.)
There are, of course, two ratings categories that kids under 18 aren't allowed to see in theaters at all: NC-17 and X. According to the official movie-ratings site, somewhere between zero and three movies a year get rated NC-17. X appears not to get used at all anymore.
I suppose it's possible that the movie-ratings board could slap an NC-17 on it and the U.S. distributor would be caught between having to cut it and wanting to avoid a box-office-damaging NC-17.
But we don't know that yet. The "too bad Americans won't see it" crack seemed out of line. That's why I brought up the specter of countries that actually DO ban movies.