R rating stuns 'Saints' makers

War is violent. Still, the moviemakers and distributor behind the Utah-made independent film "Saints and Soldiers" were shocked this week when the Motion Picture Association of America gave the World War II drama an R rating.

The film tells the fictional story of several men — one of whom is LDS — who escape the Malmedy Massacre during the Battle of the Bulge.

"This ruling concerns us immensely," said Jeff Simpson, president of the Excel Entertainment Group (distributors of "God's Army," "Brigham City" and "Charly," among others), which will release "Saints and Soldiers" into theaters later this year. "We are very sensitive to the different audiences for this film and know full well that an R rating is unacceptable to certain segments of the audience. This is a movie about war, and so there will be a certain level of violence. But we believe this film has handled that tastefully and with integrity."

Simpson said he and the filmmakers will continue to work with the MPAA during an appeals process that allows ratings to be contested. A 13-member board hears an initial appeal, with a two-thirds majority required to change the rating.

"A majority agreed that the rating should be changed, but we didn't get the two-thirds," said Adam Abel, one of the producers of "Saints and Soldiers," adding that the film will now go back to the full board for review. "We will look at their suggested changes, but we will not harm the integrity of the film."

The movie contains no foul language and has no sexual content, he said, and the violence is far less frequent and graphic than is found in many PG-13 films. "In test screenings around the country, 95 percent of the parents said they thought the movie should be rated PG-13."

Before filming started, Abel and director Ryan Little researched PG-13 movies, particularly war movies. "And then we pulled back even from that level of violence. So this rating is hard to understand."

The intent, said Abel, was to make a movie that parents and grandparents could watch with their teens, which would help teens see the consequences of war and appreciate the sacrifices their grandparents made.

"I'm so optimistic about this movie," said Simpson. "I so stand behind the morality and integrity of the film. The MPAA doesn't give ratings based on morality. But this is a very, very moral film. It is less violent than 'Lord of the Rings' or 'Pearl Harbor,' both of which got a PG-13 rating. We told the board not to confuse their emotional attachment to the characters with the intensity of violence."