Suicide film banned from cinema

Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel take the lead roles in The Happening

A cinema in a county where a number of young people have apparently killed themselves has been criticised for not showing a film about suicides.

Odeon said it asked for police advice about whether to show in Bridgend The Happening, which features a pandemic that drives people to suicide.

Since the beginning of 2007, 22 young people from the county of Bridgend have apparently taken their own lives.

But local councillor Peter Foley said the ban was "not helpful".

The Hollywood thriller - the latest film by cult director M Knight Shyamalan, who previously directed The Sixth Sense - stars Mark Wahlberg and was released in the UK last Friday.

The company's other cinemas are still showing the movie but it said it was not showing the film at the multiplex at McArthur Glen in Bridgend "due to sensitivities around the content of the film in this particular region".

I think it is over the top and an irrational reaction to irrational actions Cllr Peter Foley

But Cllr Foley said it was a "terrible" decision.

"I think banning it creates mystique," he said.

"It will create greater interest. I can think of other films, like The Exorcist, that become popular when they are banned.

"I think it is over the top and an irrational reaction to irrational actions. We need to calm down and let the public authorities investigate and try to resolve the situation."

Support services have been set up in the village of Bettws in Bridgend, following the third suspected suicide there since April.

Carwyn Jones, 28, was found on Monday.

His death followed that of two other men who had lived in the same street as Mr Jones, and who were both found hanged within weeks of each other.

Bridgend Local Service Board said it has organised additional services for the Bettws area including youth support, policing and street pastors.

South Wales Police said they were investigating the latest death in Bettws and that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death or the two others in the village.

A spokeswoman for Odeon said it contacted South Wales Police about the film last month and held discussions with force press officers, and they advised the subject matter of the film was "inappropriate".

"Odeon has taken the decision not to screen The Happening at Odeon Bridgend due to sensitivities around the content of the film in this particular region," said the spokeswoman.

"We are unable to comment further on this issue."