(This is a spoiler review.)

DALLAS, May 21, 2006/ FW/ --- A lot of movies have been very controversial, but ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was able to stir even the most conservative, including the Vatican, up in arms against it.

Perhaps, it is because about religion and Christianity, and the premise that Jesus was married and had children, with his descendents still surviving up to today. Whatever it is, the book penned by Dan Brown has been an international best seller ever since it came out, and now the movie based on the book is proving to be a box office hit in the U.S.

The movie premiered in Cannes, an appropriate place simply because the setting is in France, and the last living descendant of Christ is supposed to be French.

Still, among the most liberal minds on the planet, i.e., actors, actresses, movie directors and denizens of the cinema world, the movie received hoots and hisses after its screening.

The irony is that here in Dallas, where I saw the movie in the theater; the movie received a spontaneous applause from the audience. If this was a group of ‘conservatives’ or ‘liberals,’ I will never know. But considering that the audience is composed of the ‘normal movie going public,’ then it will be safe to assume that this is the audience that the movie was made for.

For those who read the book and have been to the Louvre in Paris, it was very easy to see that the movie was shot on location, i.e., Ron Howard the Director and the producers of the movie received permission to shoot the ‘Da Vinci Code’ in one of the most important museums in the world, and of course, one of the most famous landmarks in Paris.

That is a feat by itself, considering that 6 days a week, the Louvre is open to the public and that gives the moviemakers only one day to shoot the scenes there, and of course at night.

Like in the book, the movie brought the audience to a chase in and out of the city in Paris and London; then finally back in Paris, where in the end, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) stood on top of the inverted pyramid at the Louvre, which, according to the book, is the final resting place of Mary Magdalene.

The ‘Da Vinci Code’ is a good movie, though ‘not great’ for Tom Hank’s standards with his unforgettable performances in ‘Forest Gump’ and ‘Philadelphia’ where he received Academy Awards.

Even Audrey Tautou, whom we loved in ‘Amelie,’ will not be remembered for her role as Sophie, the last descendant of Christ in the movie.

And no, it’s not because their acting was lacking; it’s because the storyline is so powerful, that people will remember the message. Such is the power of Jesus and I am not talking about the metaphysical sense.

Now, for the controversy surrounding the book and the movie. First, I have to say that I was raised Catholic, and was taught everything about the religion from my earliest memories.

I saw the movie with my mother, who by the way is a very conservative Catholic, i.e., she goes to church every Sunday and all religious holidays; she prays her rosary and her novena everyday.

Yet, both of us did not see anything wrong with the movie, even the book, which both of us has read. Maybe, its because we recognize that the Da Vinci code is a WORK OF FICTION, based on the most powerful stories or history of the world, depending on your point of view.

And like what my mother said while we were going out of the theater ‘It does not matter whether Jesus was man or God, or that he got married. What matter is that he taught the world to LOVE. That is why 2000 years after his death, he is still remembered.’

Even the movie took that viewpoint. Sophie called Robert Langdon as she dipped her foot in the pond, as if ‘testing’ if she can ‘walk on water.’ She cannot! Then Sophie said, ‘Maybe I’ll do better with the wine.’

In short, the movie itself reminded everyone that it is a work of fiction and should not be taken as history.