DaVinci Code, Denied

We tried to see The DaVinci Code today, but didn't make it to the theater in time to get tickets for the 4:30 show. Shelly has a conference call tonight, so we couldn't buy tickets for any of the later shows, though it's showing on seven different screens within 10 minutes of our house.

The movie is under intense scrutiny in this majority Catholic country. A nearby church has hung a huge banner at the entrance to the neighborhood "denouncing" the film and urging believers to boycott it. Legislators threatened to ban the film. And it wasn't until Tuesday or Wednesday this week that the Motion Picture and Television Rating and Classification Board (MTRCB) even allowed it into the country. (They ended up slapping an R-18 rating on DaVinci, the most restrictive rating available and one much more restrictive than the PG-13 the MPAA gave it in the U.S.)

I'm hoping it will still be showing somewhere in Manila once I get home from backpacking. If not, there will always be illegal DVDs. (Kidding....)