For the first time, moviegoers in this predominantly Catholic nation will have the opportunity to see Martin Scorsese's 1988 film "The Last Temptation of Christ" on the big screen next month.
The scheduled March 26 release date is the same as that for Mel Gibson's similarly controversial "The Passion of the Christ." A spokesman for "Temptation" distributor United International Pictures (UIP) said Monday that it "is strictly a coincidence" that the two films share a common release date.
According to a UIP press statement, the Catholic Church in Mexico has pressured government censors to ban the screening of the controversial "Temptation" since 1988.
Javier Cortes, a top official at the Radio Television Cinematografia -- the government agency that regulates and classifies radio, TV and film content -- said that in February 2003 UIP received authorization to screen "Temptation."
As Mexico's political climate grows more tolerant, subject matters once considered taboo have found less resistance from the government watchdog agency in recent years.
Much of that has to do with the commercial success of "El Crimen del Padre Amaro" (The Crime of Father Amaro), Mexico's all-time box office champ. The 2002 production, starring Gael Garcia Bernal as a young priest, portrayed certain church officials as corrupt and hypocritical in their teachings.
The lesson learned from "Padre Amaro," said Cortes, was that though the picture stirred up considerable controversy, Mexican audiences were mature enough to decide for themselves if a film goes beyond the limits of what is considered good taste.
Cortes insisted that "Temptation" was "never officially prohibited."
"The distributor probably had conversations with the government in the 1980s," he said. "But we have no record showing that the government officially banned the movie."
Permission to distribute the video and DVD was granted to Columbia TriStar Home Video of Mexico in November 2000.
20th Century Fox, which acquired Latin American rights to "Passion," has said Cardinal Norberto Rivera, the nation's highest-ranking church official, will sit in on a private screening of the film March 12.
"Temptation" will hit theaters nationwide with 71 copies, while "Passion" will bow with more than 300 prints.