Customer Reviews

Code 46 [VHS]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

In a future where the people of the world are united, the sun burns all living as the ozone layer is more or less depleted. Disease and other biological complications have led to the cloning of humans in order to restore the human species, which has also led the world to create a number of rules and one of these rules is Code 46. Code 46 states that people with 25 percent or more similar DNA cannot copulate, and if pregnancy is accomplished then the pregnancy will be terminated. In addition, if Code 46 is intentionally broken it is a criminal act which will be punished accordingly. Thus, in order to maintain the human species a dystopian atmosphere has been generated where emotion is secondary and biological purpose primary.

William (Tim Robbins), an intuitive agent for the Sphinx Corporation, arrives to Shanghai in order to investigate inside theft of papeles, paperwork that allows for travel between different zones of the world. Through the investigation William meets Maria (Samantha Morton), the thief of the papeles, but instead of handing her over to the superiors he lets her go. This displays William's personal motives as he has fallen in love with Maria, and begins to follow her immediately as she leaves the company grounds.

It is Maria's birthday and on each of her previous birthdays she had experienced a recurring dream about riding on a train that brings her one stop closer to her destiny. This birthday is the birthday that is suppose to bring her to the final stop where her destiny awaits her. When Maria bumps into William on the train, as he has been following her, she seems to grasp the moment as she invites him on an unforgettable journey as she is aware of him knowing her secret.

Through Maria's birthday celebration William gets to meet one man who has bought a papele from her, and she points out the happiness the man displays as he is given the papele. This moment of emotion is the reason for her theft of the papeles from the Sphinx Corporation, which appears to be something new for William. The supreme intuition that William possesses is the result of a virus that he has taken as viruses can function as a serviceable tool. In William's case the intuition virus aids him on to determine whether a person is telling the truth or not, however, he seems incapable of feeling and expressing the emotions that begin to emerge within him as he is lost in confusion between biological nature and empathy-like emotion.

Code 46 brings the audience a disconnected science fiction tale where empathy is a lost relic from the past, and science is what has saved mankind. Nonetheless, Winterbottom produces a story which emotionally could be compared to Lost In Translation (2003), but it does not generate the same brilliance that Sophia Coppola accomplished in her film. For example, the futuristic atmosphere is occasionally interrupted by "present time" segments such as when William rents a car. Overall, Code 46 does not bring a new concept to the relationship between emotions and science as it can be experienced in other films, but Winterbottom creates a new angle on this concept as it leaves the audience with an indifferent and clever cinematic experience with some notions to be pondered.

I can't believe it took a full glass of wine to work up the courage to write this review. Monday night is supposed to be my "thinking night"; an ascetic alternative to the typically alcohol soaked weekends. I've gone back and forth so many times about my opinion on this movie. Last night however, I decided I'd thought about reviewing this movie once to many times. So, my best shot.

As expressed in the title, I don't think Code 46 is a good movie. I agree with most of the critics as it relates to the storyline (full of holes and cliche), and I don't particularly remember a standout performance by either Tim Robbins or Samantha Morton. I do however remember the movie...often.

I've basically distilled down the value of Code 46 to this: a world-class "ambient film".

This is a beautiful movie to watch. Set in near-future Shanghai, it consistently presents vividly attractive sets, with hauntingly beautiful music. Bear with me a second here, but if you took a random collection of good movies (as a control group), and randomly snapped pictures of scenes, then hung them on a wall, my bet is that Code 46 would consistently compel a more significant emotional response.

Hardly a reason to watch this film. I'm a Sci-Fi buff, I really look forward to good plot development, good effects, good acting. This movie scores poorly in those verticals. However, with all the crummy media out there, when a certain piece comes along that leaves an impression, any impression, it's worth noting in my opinion.

This movie is worth watching. Put it on before going to bed, let the cinematography and score wash over you. It sets a powerful and interesting mood for emotion. Which is more than I can say for most.

Enjoy,

Christian Hunter
Santa Barbara, California

When it began, I thought it was a bit slow. When it was over, I couldn't stop thinking about it for three days.

The voiceover track is a story unto itself. The film deserves a second watching just to absorb it.

Well cast, well acted, well directed, well filmed...there is nothing I would change about this film. There really ought to be a separate category for thoughtful sci-fi that contains no space ships, no ray guns and no monsters. My thanks to all those who helped to create it.

Recommended.

Viewers have faulted Code 46 for the lack of physical and emotional chemistry between Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton. After all Robbins is well to do, educated, handsome and tall where Morton exudes none of these characteristics. A less capable director would have taken the easy road and selected a beautiful, tall cover girl for Robbins. But director Michael Winterbottom chose Morton, and let the storyline and acting abilities of the characters convince viewers that the relationship is both plausible and real. And Morton is a convincing seductress. She plays quite a natural cat and mouse game of sexual and emotional fulfillment: extending her affection at times, then pulling back at other times. Keep in mind that Robbins is more than a chance encounter and romance, but the fulfillment of a dream. Any male could have taken the place of Robbins: he just happened to be in the right place under the right circumstances.

I could not foresee an ending more tragic. Both Robbins and Morton engage in a affair which both know must end. An affair which is both illicit and illegal. Morton's punishment may seem severe, but in my view, adds credence to the story, and reinforces her character as the tragic heroine.

Code 46 is not the feel good hit of the summer, but somber and melancholy. Recommended.

Something haunting and captivating ... the first time it moved slowly and like a return road trip, the second time faster, the third time faster still ... each scene develops perfectly, between dreams and reality, exotic scenes of Asian cities both urban city life and rural slums. The love scenes are titillating and sweetly done. The sci-fi technology is integrated in the daily living ... I'm still processing on the outcome -- she would have gotten the same sentence in any event, with or without the love affair ... and still it was a love affair and they did love each other.

This movie is gripping and fascinating from the first minute until the last frame. It was flawlessly acted and executed. The photography is appropriate for the mood it intends to convey and the story, as well as the characters, have debt and dimension. I dont understand the overall low rating of this movie as unlike a lot of the garbage the US has been making in the sci-fi, futuristic department lately, this movie from the UK was fabulous - from plausibility to originality of story telling.

It is about a future in which genetic engineering and such things as IVF and cloning are common place; It is a future where genetic profiling is also common-place and where couples can submit their genes and have it analyzed within minutes for compatibility. Because IVF and cloning are so commonplace, there exist certain "quality control" laws to prevent reproduction between two individuals that are genetically too close. This is "Code 46".

That's the backdrop to the real plot here which is a love story between two people. William (Tim Robbins) is in Shanghai to investigate a case and he meets Maria (Samantha Morton) whom he falls for and spends a passionate night with. He leaves the next day as he has a wife and a child in Seattle. He cannot forget about Maria, however, and seeks her out the next time he is back in Shanghai. She has disappeared, however. Turns out, she has violated Code 46 and was taken away to be "taken care of". When having her DNA analyzed, he finds out that he "must not liaison with her" as their DNA is 50% identical and her DNA is 100% identical to that of his mother's.

I dont want to reveal too much about what happens at this point but it is sort of like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". William and Maria fall in love again; a bad decision in a time and place where they are not supposed to be together by law.

Like I said, I dont get all these negative reviews, undoubtedly by some religious nut jobs, calling this movie filthy or about incest. That is nonsense and far from it. These people are not committing incest in what we understand as incest. The truth is that they live in a future where cloning and IVF are commonplace requiring checks and certain measures to prevent genetic defects. William and Maria dont know each other. They never met. But they fall in love and are unfortunate in that they live in a society where cloning has become so common that 5 out of 10 people they meet on the street could be related to them. It is not their fault nor is it to their knowledge that they are related. And even after William finds out - well, since he has never met this woman and she is not his mother, only genetically identical to her, he doesnt feel like it is wrong or like he is sleeping with his mom.

In short, this movie is fantastic. It draws you in - especially the parts that take you into a future that is not too far off from where we are today and yet so fantastic and far away. Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton do an amazing job portraying the melancholy of their characters as well as how trapped they really are in identities that were created for them since birth.

I am not going say much about this film's storyline since it's already been covered by a number of reviewers. I had to watch this movie, not because I was interested this film, but it's because I am a die-hard Samantha Morton fan since Sweet And Lowdown. Quite fankly, I think this film is unique and interesting, but it's not well written and the two leads had no chemistry. I think Samantha was good when she was acting alone, but character is not captivating and fell flat most of the time. Also, it didn't make sense why Tim Robbins would risk punishment when he knew that to be involved sexually with Samantha was a violation of the Code 46, considered that he had a loving wife and son waiting at home for him. Is the future really going to be so complicted? There's memory erasal, gene cloning, and injection of virus to have languge skills and so on. Some of the sets and future technologies are impressive in this movie. Since this film is consisted of mostly conversations about forbidden love and identity, the 98 mins fell like more than 2 hours, and I actually couldn't wait for it to be over. This was Morton's second try at Sci-fi genre, she previous worked in Tom Cruise's Minority Report. Maybe it's better if she do more dramas like In America.

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.

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.

I thought this movie was much better than many of the reviews state here. The photography is incredible, the acting by Robbins, Morton and secondary characters first-rate. Even the directing and creativity element - very inspiring and innovative: the slow-motion, short-little interjection of boots flying off; the dreamy kiss of Morton greeting Robbins as he arrives home in Seattle, the strobe effect in the dance club. Even the music was superb: both haunting and sentimental, if such a thing was possible. This movie deserves much better reception and I'm sorry to see many reviewers and critics overlooking such fine elements the movie possesses. One criticism on the plot (spoiler alert): Why was he denied exit from Shanghai on his second visit? This is inexplicable. He was on business. Surely his firm could have vouched for a legitimate return to Seattle. One small flaw I can overlook in an otherwise excellent film. Highly recommended.