'Kingdom' banned in Kuwait, Bahrain

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Kuwait and Bahrain have banned theaters from showing "The Kingdom," a Hollywood thriller set in Saudi Arabia, Variety.com said Wednesday.

The first Hollywood movie made in Abu Dhabi, "The Kingdom" is about an elite FBI team that goes to Saudi Arabia to investigate a terror attack on a U.S. compound. It is loosely based on the 1996 Khobar Towers bombings in Saudi Arabia, in which an Islamic fundamentalist cell attacked a U.S. compound, killing 19 U.S. servicemen.

The movie has passed censors and will be shown uncut in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, opening in most territories Thursday to tie in with the Eid al Fitr celebrations, the trade paper said.

"It's a big release," Gulf Film's Salim Ramia said of "The Kingdom." "There shouldn't be any controversy. The real question is, 'Did this happen in Saudi Arabia?' Of course it did. The film isn't against anyone. It's a good movie."

Kuwait is the most conservative of the Gulf countries when it comes to censoring foreign films, while Bahrain often feels pressure to do likewise from neighboring Saudi Arabia, whose cinemas have been closed for 30 years.