ROME (Variety) - Veteran director Marco Bellocchio's latest feature "The Religion Hour," which premieres internationally in the Cannes Film Festival's official competition next month, has sparked controversy in Italy with an outcry from the Roman Catholic Church on the day of the film's domestic release.
Bellocchio's drama centers on an artist and confirmed atheist whose peace of mind is shaken when his family attempts to involve him in a Vatican campaign for the beatification of his murdered mother.
The film's comments on the hypocrisy surrounding Catholicism and the secretive, Machiavellian machinations at work in family life have prompted harsh criticism from the influential official organization of Italian bishops, the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana (CEI).
"Bellocchio shows no sign of having progressed since 1964, when he debuted with 'Fists in the Pocket,"' said the CEI in its damning evaluation of the film. "The systematic destruction of family and religious values remains his sole preferred target, even in the third millennium."
Bellocchio responded by underlining that the drama is intended as a family tragedy and not a denunciation of the church, as it has been interpreted by some Catholic critics. The director said he respected the CEI's right to take a critical view of the film, but not to question its inclusion in the Cannes lineup.
Released by state-owned film distributor Istituto Luce on 70 screens, "The Religion Hour" opened Friday with a restrictive classification to audiences over the age of 14 due to the use of blasphemous language.
The tag further underlines the peculiarities of the Italian ratings system, whereby graphic violence and sex often go out unrestricted but anti-religious content continues to ruffle feathers.