Code 46 (2004)

Superficial, artificial, meaningless! A Gattaca with the only purpose of relationship, totally ridiculous, between two complete strangers. A 2046 without any feeling !!! An Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind reduced spinal !!! Images, musics and photography, absolutely great, even excellent interpretations; but it is the screenplay that does not hold and is rather grotesque and does not let any feeling real, all fake, artificial, and like a good romantic novel for ladies, tip and everything just simply to describe a relationship that we think is love ... but it is not! Poor under the highest point of view, the plot. Too bad, it could have been a small masterpiece. One last question: why the useless porn scene with S.Morton?

I remember watching Code 46 accidentally in a theater shortly after it's release. It was substitute for another movie that a group i was with missed. Describing it afterwards as a low-budget SF drama was misleading but i had no better choice of words...Some years down the road, i've purchased the DVD and saw it again. Code 46 appeared much slower than i remembered. However, what impressed me again were the details with which the authors addressed the cultural, political and environmental changes in the near future: The cars are almost inaudible; You infect yourself with a virus that helps you learn a language; You need a visa to travel which looks like a bus ticket (even overseas) etc.There are some poetic elements that might spoil your fun, but they were presumably necessary to reinforce the authors' artistic standpoint.Overall this is a very good movie.

I suppose its all about what you want to see in a movie. I did not really want to watch a movie and had this on in the background. I was glued to it. It really is Hal Hartley meets Ridley Scot with a few important caveats. There is no Blade Runner in it and honestly there is no middle America in it either. But it feels so much like their movies. It really is not, it is it's own beast. It is a pleasant voyeuristic view of the classic story of the officer and the thief. It's not surprising, its not dramatic or exciting. But it drags you through it in a very strange and disturbingly pleasant kind of way. It drops forbidden eroticism into it almost as an afterthought and manages to make it seem normal.This movie is all about what it does to us when we watch it, not about what it is about. Brilliant! Thanks for making it.

Code 46 is a film that puts its heart ahead of its head. Fortunately there are times when I can cherish such an endeavour so it worked for me, but I'm not the sort of viewer to tune out my head entirely so it didn't entirely work. For a plot, we have an fraud investigator in a dystopian future falling for his chief suspect. There's romance and plot developments, but the romance is key, the film is a study in wistful mood over and above its narrative. The driving force is the sparking of love in a time of such uncertainty it seems near impossible, a future of uncertain (and perhaps dangerous) genetic identities and instant personality alterations. A time in which mankind has gone so far with genetic experimentation that intrusive legislation and rigid border controls are the governments only tool to keep things under control, with Tim Robbins as or protagonist working to do just that. Now the above might give the impression of science fiction intrigues in a distant new world, but the design is modern with little visually (apart from a pretty awesome road junction) to set it apart from our world, generally conversation and some cold interior designs are what creates its sense of future. As for intrigue, well this gets us to the trouble with the film. Thematically, the potential is high, but by and large the issues are little more than brought up and laid down, if brought up at all. So no serious delving into the moral and biological consequences of events, nor the problems raised by personality alteration viruses, nor even much of a process of realisation/rebellion by our lead. What's there instead is charm, a gentle look at quiet, irresponsible burgeoning romance, deftly essayed by the leads and buttressed by sweet presentation. Tim Robbins does well in suggesting a questing soul beneath a smiling, sincerely insincere exterior, while Samantha Morton is a delight as the object of his affections. With hair cut short and a childlike naiveté she near shimmers in other-world loveliness, a truly likable turn. They have fine chemistry too, so their relationship is a fine one to ride with, much aided by the cinematography and score. Some places look suitably sterile here, but a lot of places are shot with soft, dreamhaze hues as if coming to from a medicated slumber, fitting to the plot. The music, mostly from The Free Association is wistful and shoegazey, again appropriate. The ending does however really spoil the mood established by the wordless score by employing a Coldplay song. I'm probably biased because I loathe Coldplay anyway but even taking that into account I don't think any vocals would really have suited the end of this one. I'm in danger of selling this one perhaps more than it truly deserves, but I did like it a lot. The lack of substance is a big drawback, but maintains a near constantly pleasing tone even if I wasn't thinking much about it after viewing. 7/10 from me, one for romantics methinks.