The Da Vinci Code

I watched Da Vinci Code last night with some of my friends. From what I've seen, I have absolutely no idea why the Church and all these morality groups wanted to ban the film. I found it spineless and totally fictional, a tale based on historical entities, no different from your typical historical romances. It did not have the hypnotism or the excitement offered by the book. In fact, I found watching it tedious. By the time RL and SN arrive at LT's house, I had to have a break and went to the bathroom, not because I thought it was heavy or deep, but because I was starting to lose interest. I realize that this is because the nitty-gritty of the artworks were not given focus, and these little details made the book sound credible and less fictional than it really is.

The main fear of its detractors is that the film may allow heretic thoughts into the minds of its audience. This is a well founded fear because if the movie would be able to translate directly the power of the book to the screen, Christianity may well be in danger. It may start to lose its hold over humanity. If Jesus were indeed plainly human, then it obviously follows that the deity Christianity worships is nothing but an equal to any other man or woman. Ergo, the messianic image of the Christ is lost together with the power of the Church as the instrument for salvation. In other words, the Church becomes obsolete. Scary thought for the world's richest institution. However, the book in itself is flawed. It is based on several assumptions that are easily disputable.

The movie is further sanitized by translating only the book's main plot, that of RL's quest to open the codex. There isn't a point in the movie where it made me pause and reevaluate my beliefs. It simply took me to an interesting and highly envious journey through Europe's main attractions. It basically showed me the high aesthetic value of the architectural designs of the olden age. While it was exciting to see such nice places, I was left bereft of my expectations of a probable ideological scandal. Unfortunately, the movie is not worth discussing in classes higher than 2nd year high school.

If the movie had any saving grace, ideologically speaking, it is at the point where RL questions the Christian belief of a deified Jesus. If Jesus is a God, does that mean he can't be a father? This is the kind of question that may be pondered by all the Christian-based religion in the world. For one thing, each of this groups spurts one thing, that God is perfect. If He is indeed perfect, why then can't he be a father to a child and a husband to a wife? Does that lessen His perfection? For me, the opposite is true. If Jesus was indeed a father and a husband, then His perfection is even more amplified for He was able to serve a role that commanded a mature spirit. For the same point, one of my questions to the Catholic church is this: if you are to serve God, does that mean that you can no longer bear a family? Argument says that the path of these religious leaders is the path of celibacy... rooted perhaps with the wrongfully conceived notion that sex is a form of sin. However, one can consult experts and documents, including the Bible, nowhere in the teachings of Christ did he say that to be his disciple is to forgo the richness of a family. It is in fact St. Paul who believed that celibacy is the way to faith, not Jesus.

The Da Vinci Code, as a movie, is worth your money if you seek to entertain yourself. But if you're looking for something deeper than an action adventure, or if you seek to find in yourself answers to issues that plague your faith, you are further served to watch movies like The Priest and The Last Temptation of Christ. Da Vinci Code will simply leave you dead tired.