Code 46

Rating:
Summary: Highbredity in Cinema
Review: A really amazing film!!!!! Not your typical SciFi or love story. In the not so distant future a married man investigates a counterfeiter and he falls inlove. What was really amazing about this was that it was a love story in a Sci Fi. Winterbottom's use Highbredity (mixture) in Cinema. Winterbottom constantly used elements from other cultures so welll and so correctly, which something I dont see to often and when do see it is incorrectly used.

Rating:
Summary: Futurelife: Another View of Genetic Policing
Review: CODE 46 is a rule in a world sometime in the not too distant future which states that it is a crime to combine like DNA at the 100% -50% -25% level. In other words cloning with like data participants is verboten, a punishable crime for which the perpetrators can be thrown on the 'outside' of the otherwise bubble-like realm of the Sphinx Who Knows Best, and for which abortions of conceived similar gene-based fetuses is mandatory.

Michael Winterbottom has created a bizarre netherland that is called Shanghai, a place where people communicate in a charming mixture of French, Spanish, English, Arabic, Chinese etc. Mobility in this 'world state' is limited by the company who governs the issuing of 'covers' (read 'passports') and when fake covers begin to appear an investigator from Seattle (Tim Robbins), who has a virus that allows him to intuit people from one shared bit of information, arrives on the scene. He identifies one Maria (Samantha Morton) who has been narrating our story and whose birthday has arrived, as the possible source of false covers. They meet, have a sexual liaison, and part - only to discover that they are genetically related and therefore have violated Code 46. The manifestations of how this works out is the ending of the film and best left unsaid.

Normally I avoid sci-fi movies, but this film is fairly intelligent and a bit more interesting than most because of the strange feeling that it occurs a time in the very near future. The performances by the always fine Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton add to the success of this film. While it is not a great movie, CODE 46 does raise some moral issues and probes the nihilism philosophy we all face. With genetic engineering becoming a common topic, this cadenza on the theme is an interesting and thoughtful one. Grady Harp, January 2005

Rating:
Summary: Bored me to tears!
Review: I couldn't agree more with the review posted by GLBT (below) -- this flic IS "dull, tedious, and derivative." It's a visually sterile would-be Blade Runner with no interesting plot twists and no chemistry. I would also add that, while the sprinkling of French and Spanish phrases used by all the characters didn't faze me since I speak those languages, it was gratuitous, superfluous, and no doubt made the already-garbled dialogue harder to follow for many viewers. I'm usually a fan of Tim Robbins, but his acting was flat and uninspired (no doubt he was painfully aware of what a dud this film is). Samantha Morton was actually a bit more convincing, but she can't accomplish the impossible. If you're reading this before seeing the film, SAVE YOURSELF and see something else!

Rating:
Summary: Gattica + Eternal Sunshine + Oryx and Crake
Review: I really loved this movie, from the very first moment. It has themes touched on in both movies, but handled in a new way. If you liked either movie I think you'll really enjoy Code 46.

What I especially found compelling about this movie was underlying love story, but I also found a lot of the "sci-fi" twists refreshing. I loved how things were subtlely left for you to discover (like day and night reversed) w/o shoving all this sci-fi doctrine down your throught...

Books - I'd just like throw in a book recommendation. "Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood. If you're into the whole sci-fi genre that deals with alternate futures and where science may be leading us...

Rating:
Summary: Code 46 is Lame
Review: I'm an avid movie watcher so I had to make a comment regarding this horrible movie.

Don't waste your time with this film. If this movie has a story, it's not clearly indicated. The film is exceptionally slow moving. The movie is equivalent to turning on MTV without the sound or glamour--as it is nothing more than a montage of pale, stark images. This movie fails on all fronts of what makes a good movie. That is to say: Bad directing, bad acting, bad screenplay, and bad special effects.






Rating:
Summary: experimental project
Review: interesting project, a lotta new elements trying to let the audience to explore, but it failed in a ununited sense. There are occasionally many shots at backdrop that link absolutely nothing to the picture but they r rather beautiful. It does seem to me the director was a little distracted by those beautiful asia area surrounded him but asked not enough question whether these scenes output what effect in the pictures, u must ask this question in here because these scenes really holds rather big amount of playing time. The code 46 thingy is interesting, the music score is rather on the bright side but not worth it to put into a rather structured story. There's something missing... thats the best I can tell for a feeling after the movie twice in a role because it made me feel like I would find somethign new in this movie. What had missing could be lacking the material between the "prober" and the girl and in fact the prober is a husband. But it isnt a bad movie if u like this type of movie, it might not be your type, but it isnt bad for its own.

Rating:
Summary: Creating sci-fi from remnants
Review: Lured by Tim Robbin's taste for the offbeat "Indie" (e.g., Jacob's Ladder"), Code 46 offered far less than it promises. More a mood piece than science fiction, writer Boyce is not Gattaca's Niccol in his piecing together of Gattaca sprinkled with Blade Runner. Nor does Code 46 have the chilling claustrophobia of 1984.
Instead, although acted well, storylines are as vague as the form of the monolithic government that enacted the code. Compared with other sci-fi that offer more holistic views of alternate realities, Winterbottom's is fractured and at times nonsensical.
I am warned when, after a film, I say to my wife "What did we just watch". Paraphrasing Gina Davis in The Fly, be warned, be very warned.

Rating:
Summary: It makes you wonder where the ordinary grown-ups come from.
Review: Take moments of Blade Runner, the lost themes of Lost in Translation, and the haunting images of Gattaca and mix them all into a big bowl, your final product would look something like Code 46. Winterbottom's vivid imagination and intelligent storytelling is proven once again as he successfully builds another chapter into sci-fi's growing history. His ability to take a simple story about a forbidden love and transform it to a different time and culture was outstanding. His themes of love, laws, and family are so dominate that he is able to handle them with the greatest of ease and use them to even paint a bolder picture. Code 46 is an instant Winterbottom classic with the professionally superb acting by Robbins and Morton, the cinematic eye candy of our future, as well as a tight script that allows the viewer experience it over and over with new references every time. Winterbottom proves that no genre is too small for him to tackle.

To begin, look at that chemistry between Robbins and Morton. The sparks were literally flying out of my television when they were together on-screen. Their presence together fueled this film to a new level by creating a truth to their relationship. We were rooting for something that was illegal in today's society as well as this fictitious futuristic one. That is a hard concept to grasp for most audiences, but with Winterbottom behind the camera guiding this masters through the motions, it came across as nothing more than pure art. Robbins has this ability to make every character he touches into this humanistic screen element of yourself. You see yourself in this man as he struggles with the truths that surround him. He isn't just having an affair, he is in love with someone that the law will not allow. That would be hard to pull off for any actor, but Robbins seems to hit his mark with ease. Morton is no different. She has proven time and time again that she can handle the intense films, and Code 46 is yet another demonstration. She handles herself so well, giving us so much from those big eyes that seem to speak for themselves. We sympathize with her dilemma and want her to continue so that Robbins and her can meet again and again. She is a very complex character with more layers that I could count, yet we see each and every one of them in Morton's role. She holds nothing back and honestly gives 100% throughout the entire film. That is hard for any actor to do, but Morton does it with the greatest of ease. It is obvious that she will continue to be a strong cinematic force in Hollywood.

Second to the phenomenal acting, you have a brilliantly colorful future. While robots and genetics seem to be the dark horse of this civilization, it is a guiding light to see love emerge from it all. The beauty of the city only enhances this sensation even stronger. The contrast between the city and the desert looming outside shows no blurred lines. It helps us to see the symbolic references to our society and the lack of change to this new one. Winterbottom pulls no punches with his cinematography, taking ideas from Blade Runner and Gattaca, he thrives on the night and sunlight to show the horror and beauty of the surroundings. He does not color coat anything with fake CGI, but instead places you in this very realistic world that could eerily happen tomorrow (watch the current news and you will see the reference). Winterbottom does a great job of giving us both dimensions of this multi-faceted world.

Finally, I have to applaud Winterbottom for the script that he chose. Frank Boyce clearly has done his homework in both the sci-fi genre as well as the love-interest films. He successfully combines the two into this brilliant display of both modern and post-modern culture. He clearly defines the emotion of love through our characters, then throws a big shock through the system halfway into this epic. What we know, or thought we knew about his world changes instantly, but in a very calm and crisp way. He also imaginatively creates this era where languages do not divide us, but instead is required to know throughout the world. I thoroughly loved the idea that everyone knows all languages. It broke the thought that this was going to be an American film. The concept of the virus was impeccable. While not much is said about this invention, the consequences that it has on the film continually keep us on our toes. The mind-shattering voiceovers coupled with the actors struggle only proves that Code 46's entire team was dedicated to the project, and sometimes that is a rarity in Hollywood.

Overall, I thought this was a welcomed change to the recycled love story syndrome that seems to plague our screens as well as a bold step in the sci-fi direction. Winterbottom continues to break new boundaries with his random choices of projects that impresses over and over and over again. For those of you that did not understand this film, I ask (wait, request) that you see it again. It cannot be enjoyed with just one viewing. Code 46 is a multi-view film that opens itself more and more to you the more often you watch it. This emotional film brought tears to my wife's eyes. Impressive and challenging! Thanks, Mr. Winterbottom!

Grade: ***** out of *****

Rating:
Summary: Code 46, Vibrant Feel, Hard to follow
Review: The movie is set in the future. The world is seperated in two. People who live inside certain cites and outside. The inside have a good life. The outside is a tough hard scrabble existence. The movie nevers goes into why this is like this, or how or who decides what people get to live on the inside. Another key element of the movies is that people with genetic material that are close will not allowed to mate seemed interesting. This is called "Code 46". Also their are virus given to people that give them mental powers. Again this is never explained very well, and I was confused at first. The basic plot is that a government pass (called papelles) is needed to travel from city to city (thats if you live inside the designated city). Someone is giving out pass's to unauthorized people. A top detective is sent to Shangha to solve this. He quickly has a suspect, a single women, that works at the place the makes the goverment pass's. This detective has superior powers,which are enhanced by taking one of the virus's. Their are several types of virus's, which are taken by many to improve their mental ability. But as the story goes the detective falls in love with the suspect. Of course this complicates everything, and he seems to have no concern about being caught. He goes out to diner with her, and to night clubs. Why this doesn't seem odd to others, I don't know.

The film had a vibrant feel. The Shangha city was really nice. The idea that the future the language will be mostly English words, mixed with words from other languages; French, Spanish, was cute.

But their seemed so many problems. This control of the cities, seemed lackluster. The gates and checkpoints seemed easy to get around. The airport their was just casual women workers as checkpoints. It seemed like a loser could sneak in an out. The detective knows almost instantly who is doing the illegal handing out of pass's (papelles). Its not explained how he figured this out so quickly. Then the detective falls in love with the suspect, in like 5 seconds, who is a very plain women. Why would the main suspect be so nice and open with the detective, that obviously might solve the crime, and cause her punishment. Then the whole issue of the detective falling love, their seemed no reason why she sparked his interest. The detective goes everywhere with the suspect, obviously showing almost a casual attitude. He, the detective seems unconcerned that his superiors might find out about this.

The movie brings up that virus's people take to obtain strong mental powers, (the detective improves his ability to read peoples minds), was never explained. Is the virus injected or eaten. Is the detective mind reading powers just from the virus or is enhanced. I would have liked to know more about virus's, and how their used.

One character obtains an illegal pass (papelles) to go to Deli (from Shanhga), and then dies in Deli. His death is considered a serious problem. It doesn't explain really what caused his death (something about bats, I am not sure) and why one death is so important.

Too many questions, too much left out.




Rating:
Summary: "I remember you from my dream, my birthday dream"
Review: Visually original and with some fine performances from Samantha Morton and Tim Robbins, Code 46 could probably be forgiven for being a cluttered, and rather confusing mishmash of ideas, themes and genres. The movie uses the cityscapes from the world as it is now, to convey a future of harshly, prohibited genetic matching, where travel is a luxury for those people living "inside," where a person's memory can be wiped in an instant, and where society is controlled by special codified passports called "papelles," which are de rigor for those individuals who want to move through the safe but administered urban zones.

William Geld (a really good Tim Robbins) is an insurance investigator who goes to Shanghai to investigate a factory where counterfeit papelles are being produced. His inquiries cast suspicion on Maria (a frantic Samantha Morton), and the two have a brief, intense affair, and eventually fall in love. In a system which potential parents are screened and unauthorized pregnancies terminated and supported by a technology of selective memory erasure, William and Maria discover that they are not permitted to cohabitate.

William and Maria have both violated code 46; a strictly policed law intended to prevent any accidental or deliberate genetically incestuous reproduction. How William and Maria navigate through these maze of restrictions, and the choices they have to make between comfort and freedom form the thematic core of the movie. It's probably much harder for them to remember their relationship than it is for them to forget it.

It takes about 30 minutes for anything to actually make any sense in this movie. Up until then, the narrative is so confusing, that most viewers will be scratching their heads in bewilderment and confusion as they try to figure out what is really going on, and where Maria is supposed to be working. This is a future world where globalization has been taken to an extreme, and where trans-national workers speak a strange hybrid of French, Spanish, Arabic and English. This is a good idea but the result is a constant sense of mystification and stupefaction that permeates and envelops the story.

However, Code 46 looks great and the decision by maverick British director, Michael Winterbottom to film on location in places like Shanghai and Dubai was a good idea, because he imbues his film with a sterile, ghostly, and often lonely ambience. The stark fluorescent affluence of ultramodern airports, subway concourses, smog-soaked skylines, and steel and chromed hotels are contrasted with impoverished outlying regions, where the poor live in shacks by vast freeways and barter their wares with wealthy tourists. Winterbottom shows us a world of great global mobility juxtaposed with extreme and acute inequality.

Morton and Robbins are an unlikely match, but they're both very good. Their steely, often reserved acting styles suitably match the sense of disparateness, isolation, and loneliness that saturates the movie. There's a sense of metallic gloom in Code 46 as both William and Maria are forced to navigate their way through a world that is probably closer and more realistic than one might think. Mike Leonard February 05.