Vietnamese Authorities Banned 'Uncharted' Starring Tom Holland Because Of Illegal Map Pictures

The new action/adventure film "Uncharted," which starred the Spider-Man trilogy star, Tom Holland, has received mixed reviews from viewers and critics. However, there was a lot of praise for Holland's fantastic performance. 

The Sony Pictures hit film faced several challenges before and after its release, including pandemic-related issues that slowed down its release. The movie was also banned in Vietnam because of a map showing China's contested claims of territory in Southeast Asia.

Keep reading to find out more details of the restriction and other films affected by the ban.

The movie, which starred Antonio Banderas and Mark Walhberg alongside Holland, was supposed to arrive in cinemas in Vietnam on March 18th. The movie has already grossed $278 million at the box office and is considered successful. It's unfortunate that Vietnamese fans won't see their favorite stars on the big screens.

The authorities announced the ban on Saturday, and the Vietnam News Agency publicized that "The film was banned from distribution after we watched it and found it contained an illegal image of the infamous nine-dash line." 

The person in charge of the Department of Cinema (Vi Kien Thanh), the team set up by the government to censor and license foreign movies, confirmed that the movie had indeed been banned in the country. 

The issue the Vietnam authorities had with the film was a map that showed the infamous nine-dash line, which refers to China's claim to the majority of the Sea area in South China. This area claimed by China includes several bustling shipping lanes, energy assets, and essential minerals. 

These resources also extend to territory claimed by The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, of course. They include Spratley Islands and the Paracel. China's claims were tested in 2013 when the Philippines took up the case at a United Nations Convention tribunal, and it revolved around the Law of the Sea. 

The verdict was finally delivered three years later in 2016, and it expressly stated that China had neither historical rights nor "legal basis" to the assets. Also, they had no exclusive control of the nine-dash line waters. The ruling was snubbed by China, as they reportedly developed some islets and coral reefs that entered the islands. 

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time a thing like this has happened. The line has been a subject of reported issues for media companies in the west. The 2018 blockbuster rom-com "Crazy Rich Asians," was also a victim of the ban in Vietnam. 

It was done to restrict a scene featuring a designer purse with a world map that showed Beijing in control of the debated areas. A year later, another movie was pulled from Vietnamese cinemas. 

About ten days after its release, "Abominable," the animated film by DreamWorks, was affected after fans called the attention of the authorities to the nine-dash line map reference. Other films affected include "Madam Secretary" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder," which were all edited to take out map images related to the issue.

Some Netflix films have also been struck by this restriction, as several episodes of the Australian series "Pine Gap" were removed from their services even if the claims by China were described as disputed in the dialogues. The ban also followed complaints made by the authorities in charge of broadcasting.

The decision was given by the Philippine films board on September 28th and made public later. Per the Department of Foreign Affairs, the board believed that the use of the map was not an accident, "as it was consciously designed and calculated to specifically convey a message that China's nine-dash line legitimately exists." 

Fans hope that the commercial success of "Uncharted" will not be affected by Vietnam's ban.