ITALY — After being sliced, diced, and julienne fried by fans and critics alike, a much talked about 2006 mystery/detective film based on the much talked about mystery/detective book had finally caught the attention – and the ire – of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy.When Dan Brown’s enormously popular The Da Vinci Code was released in book form in 2004, it became a huge hit and inspired knock offs and praise. It also sparked renewed interest in the Catholic Church, reminding the world that its history and influence on society are far-reaching and nuanced. Ultimately translated into 44 languages, it was made into a feature film starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.

Given its limited sense of humor on matters religious, especially during the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, it’s hardly a surprise that the film infuriated some officials within the Catholic Church – but it is something of a shock that the Church has chosen to file legal obscenity complaints against the film, especially more than a year after its release.

The complaint was filed by a clerical group located near Civitavecchia that contends that the depiction of Jesus and Mary Magdalene as a married couple with children puts the film in violation of Article 528 of Italy’s Penal Code. It lists director Howard and author Brown among eight other defendants who could find themselves with criminal records in the country, fines of at least $139, and prison sentences of anywhere from three months to three years, if a judge agrees to hears the case and finds them guilty. Given that state attorneys have agreed to investigate, Howard and crew may want to avoid Italy for a while, since they can’t be extradited but they can be arrested if in country.

Although both print and film versions of the work enraged some religious groups, this is the first legal case brought against either entity.

Ironically, Howard and Brown are currently beginning preproduction work on a highly anticipated collaborated Da Vinci sequel, Angeles and Demons.