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French cinemas refuse to screen The Passion
By Kim Wilsher in Paris
 

French cinema chains are refusing to distribute or screen Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ because of fears that it will spark a new outbreak of anti-Semitism. France is the only European country where there is still no distribution deal for the film, which depicts the last days of Jesus Christ in graphic detail and is accused by critics of stoking anti-Jewish sentiment. The film was released in America last week but French distributors are wary of its impact on audiences and want to gauge its reception elsewhere in Europe, where it is due to open next month. A veteran film industry figure said: "We don't want to be on the side of those who support such anti-Semitism. When we distributed It's a Beautiful Life by Benigni we were worried about the risk of making a comedy about the Holocaust, but that was different. There's enough anti-Semitic stuff circulating here already without us throwing oil on the fire."

The debate over the film is highly sensitive in France, where a spate of fire-bombings of synagogues and Jewish schools and attacks on rabbis over the past year has led Israel to denounce it as the most anti-Semitic country in Europe. Anger with Israel among France's large and growing Muslim population, combined with the strength of Right-wing parties in some French districts, have contributed to an atmosphere which has alarmed political and Jewish leaders.  Last year Paris police were forced to set up a dedicated unit to deal with anti-Semitic crimes. Schoolteachers complain that they face a hostile reaction among Muslim students when trying to teach the history of the Holocaust, which some equate with Israel's actions against Palestinians in the occupied territories. Now a string of major distributors have signaled they are not interested in the film. "We could have asked to see it but we haven't," said Jean-Claude Borde, director of Pathe Distribution. "The subject doesn't interest us. Usually we acquire the rights to a film well in advance after reading the screenplay, but with Gibson it's not our cup of tea." Other companies have either dismissed the film as "rubbish" or voiced anxiety over its content. "I didn't even stay until the end of The Passion. It's rubbish, nothing but a huge marketing operation. "There are already enough bad films in France," said one French distributor who saw an early screening in the US. The industry is acutely aware of the capacity of film to stir popular passions after its experience of violent demonstrations and attacks on French cinemas following the release of Martin Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. This time, many in France fear that The Passion will stir up angry reaction of a different kind. The newspaper Liberation described Gibson's faith as "a Shi'ite version of Christianity ... imbibed with blood and pain" which "reduces the message of Christ to his death by torture".

This image legitimised anti-Semitism, Liberation declared. "The cult of the martyr is a dangerous combustible in which fanatics burn. It can feed intolerances and religious wars." So far the celebrated director Luc Besson is the only significant figure in the French industry to express interest in getting the film screened. A group of traditional Catholics has formed a pressure group to attempt to force a French distributor to take up the film. Daniel Hamiche, a publisher and journalist, who has founded Pro-Passion, a supporters group, said: "France, the older son of the Church, is the only country in Europe where still today the film hasn't found a distributor. At first I believed they wanted to see how the film would do at the box office. Now, with the success of the film in America, I don't really understand why they are not snapping up - unless it's self-censorship." A spokesman for Unifrance, the official promotion body for French films, blamed Gibson for the impasse, claiming he had imposed "difficult" conditions on the release of the film. She said: "I don't think Mel Gibson's people have been making it very easy for the distributors." M Hamiche remains disgusted by what he regards as his countrymen's perfidious approach to The Passion. "I do understand that the distributors and the Jewish community might be worried about possible attacks, but I don't believe the film is anti-Semitic and I think they are being over sensitive." French Jews fear that if M Hamiche's campaign is successful, anti-Semitic beliefs will spread. Patrick Klugman of the Committee Representing Jewish Institutions in France said: "The most important progress made against anti-Semitism in the 20th Century was achieved at Vatican II when the reference to the responsibility of the Jewish People in the catechisms was repealed.

"It's a shame that this film challenges this decision."