The Wachowski brothers will launch Vendetta on Nov. 4 -- the day before the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes day.

The possible connection is their film is about the overthrowal of a corrupt, fascistic British government -- and blowing up Parliament in the process.

An excerpt:

In today's skittish atmosphere, it takes a certain courage - or foolhardiness- to make a film that might be seen as endorsing terrorism, or at the very least, bomb-fueled anarchy. At a time when many studio films avoid what might offend, the makers of "Vendetta" have stepped out onto a lonely limb. And as persuasively as the filmmakers argue that their movie means to raise provocative questions rather than to lay down moral judgments, it is hard not to be unnerved at the mental image of one of the West's proudest democratic symbols splintering into millions and millions of tiny particles.

"Vendetta" is to open in the United States on Nov. 4, which happens to be the day before the 400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes Day, commemorating the original, failed Roman Catholic plot to blow up Parliament. (Fawkes, one of the conspirators, was tortured, hanged and drawn and quartered, and is now cheerfully burned in effigy in annual bonfires across Britain.) The movie is set in a ravaged, crumbling London in 2020, a city in the throes of seemingly terminal decay. Cars are scarce; food is rationed; the subway is leaking and unusable.

Nuclear explosions, chemical and biological warfare, incurable viruses and other similarly unpleasant things have destroyed most (if not all) of the rest of the world, leaving Britain isolated unto itself, a small island adrift. The government - all-seeing, all-powerful and cruel - keeps the terrified citizens under its control with a potent mix of Stalinesque communism and Nazi fascism. Into this dead and deadly society comes V, a mysterious and strangely charismatic masked freedom fighter (or terrorist - take your pick), with a searingly awful past and a goal to overthrow the government. He is aided, eventually, by Evey (Ms. Portman), who joins his movement when political consciousness is thrust brutally upon her.

The story, as told in the much-praised graphic novel, raises sharp questions about the morality of using violence to fight oppression and asks, how far would you go in the service of what you believe in? As far as the filmmakers are concerned, the film provides no easy answers, no overt message; instead, it is meant to challenge audiences to come up with their own conclusions.

"It's politically ambiguous, and the more credit and intelligence you give the audience, the better," said James McTeigue, the director. ("Vendetta" is his first job in the director's chair; he previously worked as first assistant director on the "Matrix" films, which were directed and written by the Wachowskis.) Mr. McTeigue said in an interview that he was not making "one of those films which wears its heart on its sleeve, like 'The Passion of the Christ.' "

"I think it's time for films to be put out there and for audiences to make up their minds," he added, "rather than have movies bleat to them, 'This is what to believe.' "