6 Ways to Break the Da Vinci Code

By Jeremy Caplan

Tom Hanks says his new thriller's plot is "nonsense," but that's not quieting protesters, who are slamming The Da Vinci Code as blasphemy for suggesting that Jesus fathered a child. Here are some ways opponents are fighting the film, which premieres this week at the Cannes Film Festival:

1. BAN Both cinemas in the Faroe Islands, a Danish territory, are refusing to show the adaptation of Dan Brown's blockbuster novel on grounds of sacrilege. This isn't the first film banned there. Monty Python's Life of Brian was nixed for its naughty nuances.

2. STARVE If their government nixes a ban, a group of Catholics in India may fast--"unto death," said one of its leaders.

3. SUE Top Vatican official Francis Cardinal Arinze said the film's insults to the faith may merit legal action to stop its dissemination.

4. RIDICULE The Da Vinci Code Response Group says it won't stoop to condemnations or boycotts but calls the film "harmless" and "grotesque."

5. PREACH More than half of U.S. pastors polled by Leadership, a Christian magazine, said they planned sermons, classes or seminars to discuss biblical and theological issues raised by the film.

6. COUNTERPROGRAM Along with the usual pre-movie trailers, 250 theaters in Sydney, Australia, will show a brief Anglican Church video challenging the film, part of an effort to get 10% of the city's population to become churchgoers by 2012.