Religious groups call for boycott of ‘Da Vinci Code’
PARIS, May 18: Outraged religious groups called on Thursday for boycotts of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ as the blockbuster began its worldwide rollout, ramping up the money-making fuss despite grim reviews by critics.
The film was savaged by professional critics as it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France this week, its detractors complaining it was dull and lacklustre.
From Beijing to Washington, religious leaders said the movie both violated ethics and offended believers with its central premise about the personal life of Jesus Christ.
But despite the protests, the huge hype that has surrounded the movie looks like ensuring massive audiences.
‘The Da Vinci Code’, based on the book by Dan Brown and starring Tom Hanks and France’s Audrey Tautou, went on general release across much of Asia despite attempts by Christian groups and censors to have it cut or banned.
China’s censors, who regularly ban wfilms that do not conform to the Communist Party’s rules, allowed the film to be released uncut in more than 30 cinemas after its Beijing premiere on Wednesday.
But the Roman Chinese Catholic church said it violated Catholic teaching.
State media quoted Liu Bainian, the vice president of the China Catholic Patriotic Association, as saying: “The Chinese Catholic church... calls on all Chinese Catholics to launch an all-round boycott of ‘The Da Vinci Code’.”
A US coalition of religious groups also demanded a boycott, saying the film defamed Christianity and Judaism and was nothing but ‘garbage’.
In Europe, the film got off to a modest start in French cinemas, according to box-office figures.
The numbers were well down on the opening days of the latest Harry Potter and Star Wars movies.
A US coalition of religious groups, the Inter-Faith Coalition Against the Da Vinci Code, linking Christian and Jewish groups, said movie-goers should not waste their money.
“This is a blasphemous movie we shouldn’t give our money to,” said Reverend Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International.
“In many ways it defames our Lord Jesus Christ, in many more ways it undermines people’s faith in the church that Jesus Christ established, and in even more ways it celebrates paganism and even Satanic rituals.”
Don Feder, president of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, said his organisation was calling for a boycott as the movie’s plot was not only an attack on Christianity but on Judaism as well.
The Russian Orthodox Church called the film a ‘dangerous provocation’ aimed at ‘cynically squeezing out a profit’.
“We cannot guarantee that opposition against this sacrilegious act, which offends the sentiments of believers, will not take on extreme forms of protest,” said a statement from the Patriarch’s office.
In Mumbai, an Indian hunger striker protesting the film’s launch called off a fast ‘to death’ after less than two days, claiming victory in his campaign.
Joseph Dias, head of a Mumbai-based Catholic group, halted his strike ahead of a final censors’ decision on allowing the film’s planned release across the country on Friday.
“We have succeeded in drawing the movie to the attention of the Indian government,” said Dias. “They have not given them the certificate and they are reviewing the whole process.”
Mr Dias said on Tuesday that he was prepared to die unless the film was banned. He would not say whether he would return to his fast if the film was shown in India.
In Italy, protesters said they would organise a public burning on Saturday of Dan Brown’s original novel, saying it was blasphemous and that both book and film sought to ‘reduce the Christian message to a Hollywood thriller’.
But film industry experts predicted that nasty reviews, boycotts and sharp criticism from church authorities would not stop the film from scoring big in box offices this weekend.
Ticket sales specialist Gitesh Pandya said: “Overall I still think it will have a gigantic opening weekend all over the world, because there’s so much media hype and curiosity all around the world.”
“There was already controversy about the film anyway, this (bad publicity) just adds to that,” said Paul Degarabedian of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box office trends.
“Everybody is talking about the movie right now. I think this will only help the film, especially this weekend.” —AFP
