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| CODE 46 (2003) | |
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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. |
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DIRECTED BY |
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| Michael Winterbottom | |
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UK |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 1/1/2005 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
