Report: Cambodia bans Hollywood blockbuster

The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has banned the Hollywood blockbuster sequel “Kingsman: Golden Circle’’ from local cinemas, local media reported on Thursday.

The ministry banned the Hollywood blockbuster because one of the film’s villains hides in a Cambodian temple.

The blockbuster, which tells a fictional story of a British spy agency which teams up with its U.S. counterpart to track a drug lord based in Cambodia was to open in local cinemas last week.

Many of the movie’s skirmishes with the film’s villainess, played by Julianne Moore, take place in a temple situated in the heart of the Cambodian jungle.

The Ministry of Culture cited the resemblance of the temple in the movie to the Ta Prohm temple, which could be found in the world famous Angkor Wat temple complex.

Bok Borak, deputy director of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said the ministry took issue with portraying Cambodia as a destination for criminals, according to local media reports.

“They used the Cambodian land the temple as the place where the terrorists stay and make trouble for the world,’’ he told the Phnom Penh Post.

The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts was not available for comment to dpa.

Simon Choo, the distribution director at Westec Media, which purchased the distribution rights for the film in Cambodia told dpa he was “disappointed’’ with the ministry’s decision.

“For me, I think, Kingsman meant no harm to any country. It is just a form of entertainment,’’ he said.

“If this is a reason to ban any movies, I think there will be a drop in people coming to shoot movies in Angkor What,’’ Choo said.