Brunei censors play God

The Islamic sultanate of Brunei has banned Keanu Reeves' film Constantine, an apocalyptic thriller that depicts demonic possessions, visions of hell and a renegade angel.

The movie had been deemed unsuitable for public viewing, Ahmad Kadir, the secretary of the Brunei Government's Censor Board, said. He declined to give reasons. Brunei has some of Southeast Asia's strictest censorship guidelines for movies and songs, especially those with material that might be considered offensive to Islam.

Constantine is steeped in Roman Catholic mythology and features Reeves as a chain-smoking exorcist who dispatches demons back to the underworld in hopes of erasing a mortal sin he once committed. In one scene, Reeves' character lashes out at heaven, calling God "a kid with an ant farm".