The Da Vinci Code - Fact, Fiction or Just Plain Fun?

With the passing of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church is in the news again as a new conclave will begin the process of choosing the next Pontiff.

As always with a changing of the guard, old conspiracy theories resurface—was Francis the last pope to serve before Judgment Day and Armageddon, as foretold by Saint Malachy in his Prophecy of the Popes, published in 1595? (I guess we’ll find out soon enough.)

The combustible combination of religion and politics can always be counted on to foment a heady brew of feverish storytelling; reminding us of the eternal struggle between good and evil, light and dark, disclosure and secrecy.

Upon its publication in 2003, a novel by Dan Brown titled The Da Vinci Code caused a furor and sent shockwaves around the religious world, purporting to disclose “the greatest cover-up in human history.” It became one of the best-selling books of all time—after the Bible, of course.  In 2006, Ron Howard’s film adaptation of Brown’s tale expanded the story to an even wider audience, and it grossed over $760 million worldwide.

The Da Vinci Code was banned by the Catholic Church—believers were warned not to read the book or see the movie.

Why would this entertaining page-turner, the perfect book to read while on a plane or lounging on the beach, or its faithful film adaptation, an epic adventure tale set in the present day but steeped in history, legend and lore, cause such controversy?

Whatever its deeper meanings, the movie is eminently watchable; have your popcorn ready. It’s a fast-moving and well-plotted if formulaic yarn, woven with history, symbology, cryptology, secret societies, symbology, puzzles and codes (it makes a great double feature with another of my favorite riddle-me-a-puzzle adventure movies, National Treasure.)

An epic adventure that opens and closes at the Pyramid of the Louvre Museum in Paris, Da Vinci Code engagingly dramatizes a legendary quest in contemporary terms—the search for the Holy Grail.

Dr Langdon at the Louvre

Hanks, Tautou and Da Vinci's iconic masterpiece, La Gioconda

When the Louvre’s curator is murdered in what appears to be ritualistic satanic fashion, Harvard professor and symbologist Robert Langdon is whisked away from his book tour to help investigate. There he meets an enigmatic cryptographer for the French police, Sophie Neveu, who warns him that he is walking into a trap and is about to be framed for the murder. Langdon and Sophie’s escape from the Louvre sets the quest for answers in motion.

Later, the Louvre Museum’s curator (Sophie’s grandfather) is revealed to be the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, a secret society descended from the Knights Templar who protect the secret of the Holy Grail. A church-led posse for the two fugitives is under way.

For The Da Vinci Code, produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard’s longtime producing partner, with a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman (who won an Oscar for his screenplay of Howard’s A Beautiful Mind), the Imagine Films team assembled an accomplished and star-studded international cast and spared no expense to bring Dan Brown’s vision to cinematic life.

Tom Hanks (Apollo 13) dons his usual amiable and humorous everyman persona as the erudite Dr. Robert Langdon, the Harvard professor and author with claustrophobic tendencies. Audrey Tautou (Amelie) is Sophie Neveu, the soft-spoken police code breaker with a mysterious past, who does not believe in God or religion but in people.

Paul Bettany as Silas

Bettany torments Tautou

Paul Bettany (Legion), spouse of another Ron Howard favorite, Jennifer Connelly of A Beautiful Mind, plays Silas—an albino monk who has a penchant for self-flagellation with a cat-o-nine-tails. Silas moonlights as a hit man for Opus Dei, a hyper-conservative, fundamentalist sect of the church—definitely not cafeteria Catholics– who are determined to maintain the status quo and prevent the release of any historical information that might upset the institutions of traditional Christianity.

 

Scene-stealer Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing

As Sir Leigh Teabing, Langdon’s old professor from Harvard called upon to aid in the quest, Sir Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters) just about steals the film away from the principals, playing every scene with a knowing twinkle in his eye.

Alfred Molina (Prick Up Your Ears, Boogie Nights) as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, Silas’s puppet master, Jean Reno (The Professional) as a conservative Catholic police chief, and Jurgen Prochnow (The Seventh Sign, Das Boot) as the night manager of a very special bank repository are other standouts in the cast.

 

Alfred Molina as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa

Played against locations of historical and religious significance in London and Paris and environs, and packed with the requisite action and pursuit sequences (the exciting car chase with Sophie driving backward through the crowded Paris streets is particularly memorable), this crowd-pleasing film also delves deeply into Holy Grail history and lore, offering a few history lessons along with imaginative speculation. 

  

Jean Reno as Captain Bezu Fache

The quest is punctuated with cryptic clues as mysteries hidden in riddles and wrapped in enigmas are unraveled:  A blood trail leading to a key. A cryptex holding a papyrus with a map and a riddle inside, that can only be opened with a 5-letter password. Codes and anagrams galore—and, of course, the clues hidden within Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

 

Jürgen Prochnow as Andre Vernet

You’ll be treated to a history lesson on the birth of Christianity and the establishment of the Catholic Church by the Roman Empire. Emperor Constantin and the Council of Nicea, the so-called Apocryphal texts that were left out of the Holy Bible, plus a few choice bits of historical trivia along the way (the origin of Friday the 13th, for example). The ‘Rose Line’—the Paris Meridian, a line of longitude that once served as France's prime meridian and is marked on the streets of Paris—points to the way to the ultimate answer the burning question at the film’s climax.

I won’t reveal the big spoiler for those who have not yet read the book or seen the movie…I trust there are not many of you, though! I’ll leave you with one cryptic clue: Ian McKellen’s character calls the secret “the original old wives’ tale:” So dark the con of man.

The Last Supper detail—who is that on the right??

 Mostly regarded as wildly speculative (it is, of course, a work of fiction), Brown’s tale is rooted in a mix of scholarly research combined with conspiracy theories and legends, with just enough fact to make his theories plausible. And Ron Howard’s cinematic storytelling makes the story seem that much more real.

“Witness the greatest cover-up in human history.” To find out more, read the book and see the film.

Incidentally, those following the 2025 papal conclave may also enjoy Dan Brown’s Catholic-themed follow-up novel featuring Robert Langdon, Angels & Demons, also adapted into a Ron Howard film starring Tom Hanks.

This is an entry in the Adventurethon Blogathon hosted by Cinematic Catharsis and Reelweegie Midget Reviews. I look forward to reading everyone's posts!