Amazon.com: Code Unknown: Juliette Binoche, Thierry Neuvic, Ona Lu Yenke, Luminita Gheorghiu: Amazon Instant Video

Product Details

Synopsis: On a bustling Paris street corner, four separate lives intersect, setting in motion a stunning film by acclaimed filmmaker Michael Haneke. Interweaving the stories of an actress (Juliette Binoche), her journalist boyfriend and an illegal immigrant, the film crafts a compelling portrait of life in a fractured, lonely world. French with English subtitles.

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Thierry Neuvic

Supporting actors: Ona Lu Yenke, Luminita Gheorghiu, Andre? Tainsy, Arsin?e Khanjian

Directed by: Michael Haneke

Genre: Drama, Romance, War

Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes

Studio: Kino International

ASIN: B002Q7KKF0

Rights & Requirements

Rental rights: 7 day viewing period Details

Compatible with: Mac and Windows PC online viewing, compatible instant streaming devices, TiVo DVRs. System requirements

Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)

Also available on DVD

Code Unknown DVD ~ Juliette Binoche

3.9 out of 5 stars (22) $24.99

Theatrical Release Information

Production Company: Bavaria Film, Canal+, Filmex, France 2 Cinéma, Les Films Alain Sarde, MK2 Productions, Romanian Culture Ministry, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), arte France Cinéma
Filming Locations: Mali | Paris, France | Romania

Video Format Details

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful film - A 100% AWFUL DVD!!!, August 21, 2002

By

APC Reviews "APC Reviews" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Code Unknown (DVD)

This is wonderful, innovative film that combines multiple story lines and characters in a method that seems jarring but that has a finer interrelation of lives in mind than the usual narrative. That said, this is an absolutely AWFUL quality DVD edition of Code Unknown as released by Kino in the US.

The transfer is a LOW resolution, letterboxed, non-anamorphic, non-16:9 enhanced, heavily compressed dupe with poor color quality and heavy video artifacts throughout. It is without any added features whatsoever or the ability to turn off the subtitles. Kino is obviously representing some fine films, but if future releases by Kino follow the pattern of Code Unknown it will poison the well of any enthusiasm on the part of the discerning audience Kino depends on to buy copies of these sorts of films.

The Kino release of Code Unknown is being sold at a premium price, but has the quality of a cheap knock-off DVD, no better than buying a VHS tape.

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Comment Comments (3)

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The deciphering of human enigmatic behavior..., May 22, 2004

By

Kim Anehall "www.cinematica.org" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Code Unknown (DVD)

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.

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17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant shot of European Life, November 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Code Unknown (DVD)

It is rare when watching a film, to see reality realistically depicted. Code Unknown is one of those rarities.

Haneke's film is a modest masterpiece, devastating in its honesty and sincerity. Taking "snapshots" of various peoples lives communicated in about 50 sequences he poses universal questions about conscience, consequence, communication and reality.

In her finest performance ever Juliette Binoche is stunning as the actress on the verge of success. Just watch her act straight to the camera in a terrifying scene that turns out not to be real at all, and then be harrassed on a train in a horrible episode that turns out to be too real.

Code Unknown is at times frustratingly opaque - like life. It is a film that has never been fully recognised for it's brilliance or originality. Unsurprising considering how difficult it is. Stick with it however and discover a richly satisfying film, worthy of repeat viewings and much argument.

As for the DVD. The quality is not great in it's full frame letterboxed transfer. The print is scratchy and the sound hollow. A huge pity. This film deserved a lot better.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars All you need is love...
I am a big fan of Michael Haneke. I think that as a director, his approach to the art is certainly focused, unique and provocative. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Andrew Ellington

5.0 out of 5 stars How People Fail to Communicate
Code Unknown is the last film in the Michael Haneke box set I watched (also the first, because without a director's interview, I had to watch it again to try to understand it)... Read more

Published 19 months ago by Zarathustra

4.0 out of 5 stars The complex intertwinings of every day life
This unusual film presents a `slice of life' view of several individuals' lives who reside in Paris. Read more