Use of Symbols, Science and Art in The Da Vinci Code Novel by Dan Brown
The vince code
1. Director: Ron Howard
Lead actors: Tom Hanks as Professor Robert Langdon
Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu
Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing
Paul Bettany as Silas
Jean Reno as Bezu Fache
Alfred Molina as Bishop Aringarosa
Charlotte Graham as Mary Magdalene
Jürgen Prochnow as André Vernet
Etienne Chicot as Lt. Jérôme Collet
Jean-Yves Berteloot as Remy Jean (Rémy Legaludec in the novel)
Jean-Pierre Marielle as Jacques Saunière
Hugh Mitchell as Young Silas
Seth Gabel as Michael the Cleric
Marie-Françoise Audollent as Sister Sandrine
Plot: In Paris, Jacques Saunière is pursued through the Louvre's Grand Gallery by albino monk Silas (Paul
Bettany), demanding the Priory's clef de voûte or "keystone." Saunière confesses the keystone is kept in
the sacristy of Church of Saint-Sulpice "beneath the Rose" before Silas shoots him. At the American
University of Paris, Robert Langdon, a symbologist who is a guest lecturer on symbols and the sacred
feminine, is summoned to the Louvre to view the crime scene. He discovers the dying Saunière has
created an intricate display using black light ink and his own body and blood. Captain Bezu Fache (Jean
Reno) asks him for his interpretation of the puzzling scene.
Silas calls a mysterious man known as "The Teacher", revealing that he has killed all four protectors of
the keystone and that all confirmed the same location. He dons a metal cilice on his thigh and proceeds
to flagellate himself with a whip for the sins of murder. Facilitated by Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, Silas
then travels to Saint-Sulpice and is admitted by an elderly nun; left alone, he excavates beneath the
floor of the church to find a stone saying only JOB 38:11. He confronts the nun, who quotes the passage:
"Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further." Realizing that he has been deceived, Silas is enraged and kills
the nun.
Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist with the French police, enters the Louvre as well and slips Langdon a
message which leads him to the bathroom. There, Sophie meets him and tells him that he is being
tracked, a GPS tracking dot has been (unknown by him) slipped into his jacket and that he is a primary
suspect in the murder case because of a line of text found by the corpse ("P.S. find Robert Langdon").
Sophie however, believes that Saunière, who is revealed to be her grandfather, wanted to pass a hidden
message on to her (Princesse Sophie, P.S., was the nickname he used for her), and that he had wanted to
bring Langdon into the equation so that he could help her crack the code.
Buying some time by throwing the tracking device into the back of a truck, the pair begin exploring the
Louvre, finding more anagram messages that Saunière had left behind. Many of these relate to
Leonardo da Vinci's art, and the pair find a key with a Fleur-de-lis behind Madonna of the Rocks.
Langdon deduces from this that Saunière was a member of the Priory of Sion, a secret society associated
with the Knights Templar.
Pursued by the French police and cut off from the United States Embassy, the pair escape to the Bois de
Boulogne where Langdon closely inspects the key. He notices an inscription on the side – an address.
The address directs them to the Depository Bank of Zurich where the key is used for a safety deposit
box.
2. In the bank, they find Saunière's deposit box and open it using the 10 digit Fibonacci numbers in order
(1123581321). Inside the box, they find a rosewood container, which contains a cryptex: a cylindrical
container with five alphabetical dials which must be arranged in the correct sequence to spell out a 5-
letter code word, in order to open and access the papyrus message inside. Using force to open the
cryptex would break a vial of vinegar inside, which would dissolve the papyrus and destroy the message.
Unfortunately, the police are called by a security guard and they are forced to leave. The bank manager,
Andre Vernet, assists them in escaping by taking them as passengers in an armoured van to escape the
routine checks of the police. In the back of the truck Langdon and Neveu have a lengthy discussion
about the cryptex and Neveu says that her grandfather often played games with her involving cryptexes.
Langdon says that the cryptex might hold valuable information or another clue about what they are
trying to discover. Eventually, they come to a sudden stop and Vernet forces them at gunpoint to give
him the cryptex. Langdon tricks Vernet and disarms him and he and Sophie escape with the cryptex in
their hands.
Langdon suggests that they visit his friend, Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), for assistance to opening the
cryptex. Leigh Teabing turns out to be an enthusiastic seeker of the Holy Grail, which he believes is not
actually a cup but instead Mary Magdalene. Mary was pregnant at the time of Christ's crucifixion, and
Teabing tells Sophie that the Priory of Sion was formed to protect the descendants of Jesus. Jacques
Saunière was believed to be a part of this society and Teabing suspects that he was training Sophie to
join it also. Silas, meanwhile, breaks into Teabing's mansion and attempts to steal the cryptex. Teabing
uses his cane to knock Silas out and they escape again, taking the butler, Remy Jean, and Silas with
them. The group escapes in Teabing's plane, following the next clue to London. Fache learns of their
destination, and alerts the London Metropolitan Police to apprehend them at the airport. But Teabing
manages to slip the party past the police with a trick of misdirection.
Teabing leads Langdon and Neveu to the Temple Church in London, which is shown to be a red herring.
Silas is freed by Remy Jean, who is revealed to be a follower of The Teacher as well. The two take
Teabing hostage, and Silas, believing Remy to be The Teacher, holes up in an Opus Dei safehouse. Remy
is killed by the mysterious man after deceiving Silas. Silas accidentally shoots Aringarosa and is shot by
the police. Aringarosa is taken to the hospital and apprehended by Fache.
Langdon is betrayed by Teabing, who is revealed to be the true Teacher. He escapes with the Cryptex,
and attempts to find the next clue at Isaac Newton's tomb in Westminster Abbey, as Newton was
another member of the Priory. Langdon and Neveau catch up with him, and chase him into the nearby
chapter house. Teabing explained that he wanted to find Mary Magdalene's remains to prove he was
correct about the Holy Grail and threatens to shoot Sophie if Langdon does not open the cryptex.
Langdon throws the cryptex into the air, and Teabing fumbles and destroys it.
Distraught at not receiving the code, Teabing is arrested, but Langdon had cracked the code ('Apple', a
reference to Newton) and removed the clue from the cryptex before destroying it. Using the clue, they
travel to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland where Magdalene's remains had previously been hidden. The
remains had since been moved, but they meet other members of the secret organization that protected
her. Sophie is actually Magdalene's descendant and therefore is the current living descendant of Jesus
Christ. They vow to keep her safe before going their separate ways. Neveu and Langdon debate the
significance of her heritage, and Langdon finally counsels her that it's up to her what to make of the
legacy she has been given.
In Paris, Langdon accidentally cuts himself while shaving and the line of blood on the sink reminds him of
the Rose Line. He follows the Rose Line and finds the location of the Holy Grail, buried under the
pyramid in the Louvre. Langdon then kneels above Mary Magdalene's tomb as the Knights Templar did
before him.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
3. Setting: This novel journeys through Paris, London, and just south of Edinburgh, Scotland. The plot also
makes reference to New York City and areas of Spain. The plot occurs in the present day.