Code Unknown

Rating:
Summary: Rare Cinema Verite...
Review: A film by Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher, Funny Games), it stars Juliette Binoche as a an actress with a troubled brother in law and other characters who piece together this 'puzzle' of sorts in a study of the human condition. The use of very long shots and detailed sound bring an ethereal feel to the film, very human and organic. Fun to watch, but at times it was confusing trying to keep up with the fragmented narrative structure and the French language track. *** 1/2 stars.

Rating:
Summary: The deciphering of human enigmatic behavior...
Review: Code Unknown begins with a scene where a a large group of hearing-impaired students are playing charades by acting out emotional behaviors. As the audience observes the scene it becomes clear that the students cannot decode the acted out emotional behavior. The story is in regards to the human inability to understand or read these behavioral cues as they are presented in society and Haneke embodies these cues through a number of "incomplete tales of several journeys". These "incomplete tales" consist of a large number of scenes that begin in the middle and end before the end, which suggests that the ultimate beginning or ending does not really exist since all interactions are linked to the consequences and are deciphered by each individual. Clever directing fuses these scenes together with distinct fade outs that seems to lead haphazardly to a different character's tale, yet within the disorder Haneke creates a neat methodology that presents several intriguing tales. These tales deal with several social and political issues such as racism, love, attitude, poverty, and much more. Code Unknown displays the possibilities of great cinema as Haneke deliberately forces the audience into contemplative action through his creative scene constructions and challenging cinematography. In addition, the cast performs brilliantly, one example is a close-up shot of the character Anne Laurent (Juliette Binoche) as she is preparing for a film role where she is going to die. This shot is modern film history as it personifies fear with cinematic brilliance. In the end, Code Unknown is cinematic art that leaves the audience with an enigmatic riddle of human behavior which is left for the audience to decipher as the story suggests.

Rating:
Summary: The deciphering of human enigmatic behavior...
Review: Code Unknown begins with a scene where a a large group of hearing-impaired students are playing charades by acting out emotional behaviors. As the audience observes the scene it becomes clear that the students cannot decode the acted out emotional behavior. The story is in regards to the human inability to understand or read these behavioral cues as they are presented in society and Haneke embodies these cues through a number of "incomplete tales of several journeys". These "incomplete tales" consist of a large number of scenes that begin in the middle and end before the end, which suggests that the ultimate beginning or ending does not really exist since all interactions are linked to the consequences and are deciphered by each individual. Clever directing fuses these scenes together with distinct fade outs that seems to lead haphazardly to a different character's tale, yet within the disorder Haneke creates a neat methodology that presents several intriguing tales. These tales deal with several social and political issues such as racism, love, attitude, poverty, and much more. Code Unknown displays the possibilities of great cinema as Haneke deliberately forces the audience into contemplative action through his creative scene constructions and challenging cinematography. In addition, the cast performs brilliantly, one example is a close-up shot of the character Anne Laurent (Juliette Binoche) as she is preparing for a film role where she is going to die. This shot is modern film history as it personifies fear with cinematic brilliance. In the end, Code Unknown is cinematic art that leaves the audience with an enigmatic riddle of human behavior which is left for the audience to decipher as the story suggests.

Rating:
Summary: Pretentious, ponderous and empty
Review: Despite the number of good reviews (some fervent) this film has received, I'm afraid the emperor has no clothes. I prefer foreign films; they are more willing to look at the human condition and subtly explore the difficulty of truly relating to others -- something usually avoided in Hollywood product. But in the end, I truly disliked this film, particularly because it is so pretentious and ponderous. It's a very lazy film that tries to hide the fact behind its flashy film-school techniques. The director obviously believes he's in uncharted territory when he makes his obvious points about prejudice coming from all quarters and uses long (very long) takes. It results in a dismal, irritating viewing experience. Binoche, however, gives -- as usual -- a wonderful performance. For films with true emotion and valid, creative use of real-time technique, try a truly great director, Eric Rohmer ("Summer" and "Boyfriends and Girlfriends," in particular).

Rating:
Summary: Incomprehensible yet daringly experimental
Review: From its start, Code Unknown promises to tell "incomplete" stories of French life and more than lives up to its preface. This film is so choppily edited, poorly paced, and confusing that the stories evolve from incomplete to incomprehensible and infuriating. This isn't a movie about characters or plot, so it's moot to describe what little the film has of either. This is a film about mood- the mood of a persisting, even shocking disconnect and sadness in the world. There are plenty of moments of pristine beauty to supply such a mood. For instance, the opening tracking shot is breathless and subtly horrifying, as we watch racism and cruelty transpire with utter naturalism. This scene is the most vivid and evocative in the whole film- and holds a certain precedent that the film can never live up to, though Haneke continually gives us similarly fascinating, unconventionally disturbing images to absorb. For instance, a brilliant fight in a grocery is accentuated by characters angrily shoving food items in a shopping cart to punctuate their rage. I don't quite know what it means but it's fascinating to watch. And Haneke fully captures the luminosity of Juliette Binoche so that every time she appears onscreen, we feel connected. We wait for such scenes- and Binoche's appearance to jumpstart our pulse in between the unengaging filler- much of which doesn't make sense- logically, emotionally, or stylistically. The more I place it within the context of Michael Haneke's work (Funny Games and The Piano Teacher; the latter's depiction of bizarre psychosexuality seems positively mainstream compared to this) the more I believe the incomprehensibility is intentional. And surely, this movie deserves repeated viewings. Its initial effect, though maddening to a large degree, is undeniably intriguing.

Rating:
Summary: Incomprehensible yet daringly experimental
Review: From its start, Code Unknown promises to tell "incomplete" stories of French life and more than lives up to its preface. This film is so choppily edited, poorly paced, and confusing that the stories evolve from incomplete to incomprehensible and infuriating. This isn't a movie about characters or plot, so it's moot to describe what little the film has of either. This is a film about mood- the mood of a persisting, even shocking disconnect and sadness in the world. There are plenty of moments of pristine beauty to supply such a mood. For instance, the opening tracking shot is breathless and subtly horrifying, as we watch racism and cruelty transpire with utter naturalism. This scene is the most vivid and evocative in the whole film- and holds a certain precedent that the film can never live up to, though Haneke continually gives us similarly fascinating, unconventionally disturbing images to absorb. For instance, a brilliant fight in a grocery is accentuated by characters angrily shoving food items in a shopping cart to punctuate their rage. I don't quite know what it means but it's fascinating to watch. And Haneke fully captures the luminosity of Juliette Binoche so that every time she appears onscreen, we feel connected. We wait for such scenes- and Binoche's appearance to jumpstart our pulse in between the unengaging filler- much of which doesn't make sense- logically, emotionally, or stylistically. The more I place it within the context of Michael Haneke's work (Funny Games and The Piano Teacher; the latter's depiction of bizarre psychosexuality seems positively mainstream compared to this) the more I believe the incomprehensibility is intentional. And surely, this movie deserves repeated viewings. Its initial effect, though maddening to a large degree, is undeniably intriguing.

Rating:
Summary: strange but a good movie
Review: I saw this movie and I did enjoy it but it was very complacated& it was several stories within one story.A bit difficult to understand at first but a good movie anyhow.juliette Binoche is one of my favorite actress's and she was excellent in this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Point Unknown
Review: I'll keep this brief, as I feel like I've already wasted too much time on this movie as is. Turgid, pretentious, and relentlessly grim. At least that was my opinion of the first 100 minutes -- I turned it off after that. Maybe it got better in the last 15 minutes. Don't bet on it though.

Rating:
Summary: A Thought Provoking Masterpiece
Review: If ever the phrase "don't judge a book (insert DVD) by its COVER" had any meaning, it would apply to this film. No this isn't about "some watery tart," but rather it covers a wide spectrum of what life truly is and it shows us how we live it, pretty or not. I must of sat in front of my televsion, as the credits rolled by, for at least 5 minutes in pure speculation as to what in the world was meant by the ending of the film. I can promise you that no other film will leave you in thought as long as this film will after viewing it, and once you "get it," oh the joy! But I won't spoil it for you...if everyone could watch this movie and understand the morals it naturally conveys via the observence of every-day life, we would be living in as close to a Utopia as possible. The tracking shots are amazing and must have taken an incredible amount of organization to create. This film is enjoyable on so many different levels, it simply has to be experienced to enjoy these comments. Be prepared to be left scratching your head when the crosscutting occurs, but if you do the work and figure out the details in between, you can follow the story fairly well and piece together what you missed, and what it all means, in the end.

Rating:
Summary: A Thought Provoking Masterpiece
Review: If ever the phrase "don't judge a book (insert DVD) by its COVER" had any meaning, it would apply to this film. No this isn't about "some watery tart," but rather it covers a wide spectrum of what life truly is and it shows us how we live it, pretty or not. I must of sat in front of my televsion, as the credits rolled by, for at least 5 minutes in pure speculation as to what in the world was meant by the ending of the film. I can promise you that no other film will leave you in thought as long as this film will after viewing it, and once you "get it," oh the joy! But I won't spoil it for you...if everyone could watch this movie and understand the morals it naturally conveys via the observence of every-day life, we would be living in as close to a Utopia as possible. The tracking shots are amazing and must have taken an incredible amount of organization to create. This film is enjoyable on so many different levels, it simply has to be experienced to enjoy these comments. Be prepared to be left scratching your head when the crosscutting occurs, but if you do the work and figure out the details in between, you can follow the story fairly well and piece together what you missed, and what it all means, in the end.