#code 46

[kristenswig]

#56. Code 46 - Michael Winterbottom

[nature-in-movies]

Code 46 (2003)

[wack-ashimself]

'Code 46', or as I call it...

"Psychic in the dystopian fascist multicultural future investigates fake passport making, finds the criminal, falls in love with her, frames an innocent man for her crimes, knocks up the criminal 19 years his senior in a one night stand, comes back when his frame job doesn't work, finds out the criminal (cuz she did get some people killed even unintentionally) had a forced abortion AND mind wipe with a virus because they broke code 46 (sharing 50% DNA! She somehow was a clone of his mom...?), then he ditches his completely innocent wife and kid to run off to a shady city with his new love after he breaks her out...the end."

No, not really. The ONLY redeeming part of this shit show was the ending. Everything up to the ending was fucking dumb.

<or the new title: 'Millennium minder reading mother fucker, literally." lmfao>

I'll get to the ending, but this movie was uneasy in a 'who the fuck needed to tell this story?' Like, a dad, happily married (never shows ANY signs otherwise), falls in love with someone, who could be his kid based on age, for a one night stand whom he is attracted to because they share 1/2 the same DNA, because she's a 100% clone of his mom, BUT because she...went thru some shit (they basically say that) she's only 1/2 his mom? WHAT KIND OF FUCKED UP BRAIN NEEDS THIS STORY TO BE TOLD?

You don't understand. I found this by looking for unknown trippy movies. And tho poor ratings, tons of people said this was an 'unknown classic' and a 'great love story.' Tho haters on it said the leads had no chemistry. I would say that they didn't have chemistry AND it's a FUCKED UP LOVE STORY. Like, who gives it all up for a one night stand when he isn't unhappy? Just spur of the moment cheating? I dunno. "They're naturally attracted." HE WAS BORN OF ANOTHER VERSION OF HER VAGINA!

So since I am bitching, I'll say the good parts. Great background and side actors. Set pieces, theme, and shots were perfect. They created a world you genuinely felt surrounded by. There wasn't anything that felt off, ya know? And they had this melting pot of the world. Not just culture, but language. They interwove, smoothly, between so many languages. <And with no captioning because the captions were like 2 minutes further than the movie (never saw anything like it), I had to guess what they were saying, but posture, tone, and facial features actually made me feel like I was learning a few new key phrases in other languages.> And it was consistent with that. Everyone would say the same hellos, goodbyes, and greetings. It was back and forth between one language and another, and not in an unnatural (for the audience) way.

Now back to why it's shit. lol

At the beginning they say 'if you are 25, 50, or 75% DNA match, it is a crime.' So....if we were 77% related, it'd be ok? Why didn't you just say 25% and above? Like, it makes more fucking sense.

They set up this beautiful world (i mean, terrible, but it looked realistic), but never explained a fucking thing. Ever. Why is there worldwide accept fascism? Why clones; I mean, if you monitor who fucks, why are you still cloning? Shouldn't you also be monitoring the cloning more, based on this EXACT situation? How do you control these viruses <it's how he can read minds>? You get extremely limited travel passes; they expire, you're stuck? FOREVER? Like, what? "I'm going for milk honey." Be back in 30 or you're stuck on that side of town for at least a couple weeks...

And they just shrug off how both of the leads are TERRIBLE fucking people. Actually, more the psychic cop than the criminal. The criminal did the passports to help people get to their dreams. People died cuz they didn't prepare for where they were going. Not really her fault. The guy? Cheats, twice. Frames an innocent guy. Lies to everyone. And looks like he EASILY would abandon his kid. For absolutely no god damn reason. His motivations were ALL over the place. Like someone rolling the dice and doing whatever it says. He was inconsistent and selfish. Love story my ass.

So, finally, to my probably 3 people over 5 years that like this, here's the fucking ending that made this shit show decent (cuz I like being surprised, and I was.)

I didn't mention, the female criminal was narrating the whole movie. Never understood exactly how/why. Remember that...

They run. Skeezy hotel. She asks about his family, he tells her, and again shows no fucking remorse like the bitch he is. They try to make love but, WAIT! In addition to wiping her memory, the virus they put in her made her subconsciously NEVER want to have sex with the man who impregnated her again. She fights and squirms like...she's being raped. So....BDSM comes in. I'm fucking serious. Her line? "Make me want to make love to you." UGH. So he ties her up, she screams the whole time, till slowly she just repeats 'I love you.' YOU JUST REMEMBERED HIM! WTF. And you barely knew him before also. Oh and they showed her vagina. Guess I don't look for movies like that, but I swear, I didn't think you could do that rated R. <I thought it was boobs only...but wait, boogie nights showed his dick, right?>

<Anyways, after that, THIS is where I started to like it. And it was funny cuz I saw this moment in the trailer, KNEW it was said, but....didn't put 2 and 2 together.>

Morning. She wakes up like a robot. Marches downstairs. Calls the cops on herself and the man for a code 46 violation, and walks back up to bed and falls asleep. The guy is watching the whole time in shock. Turn out, the virus she was given also forces her to do that after a code 46 (also, WHY not immediately? Why wait till morning?) WHAT!? OMFG! She narc'd on herself! WHAT! Guy spends the rest of his money on a car, and they flee. With the cops hot in tow (in a helicopter, in a desert: they don't have a chance.) They flip the car (tho it was avoidable if they just slowed down for 2 seconds), crash, and are caught.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

Guy is waking up from the accident, criminal narrates that because of his virus to mind read, they think he went haywire. So with other viruses they delete the mind reader virus, delete memories of the girl, and made it look like he solved the case and simply got into a car crash. The WEIRD part of this all? His wife knows EVERYTHING (or at least MOST of it), and just makes out with him and fucks him later at home (which, by the way he touches her, subconsciously, he is still thinking of the criminal). He...he left you and your son.....you're that desperate to get back to what you had? How could you? Cuz, IMO, logically they would let the wife know the basics of the situation if only to make sure those two 'lovebirds' don't ever meet up again. So his wife will forever know what he did; he won't. That's fucked up.

And FINALLY...criminal was banished outside the walls again, but LEFT with her memories (since she can't get into the city). And she was narrating the whole movie cuz the memories of him were the only thing that kept her going...(they, ya know, less than a week they knew each other.)

So that's it.

Worth it, barely, cuz of the special effects, sets, and ending. The rest, including most of Tim Robbins's acting, was kinda like 'well, they got the job done. Not good, but done.'

'Code 46': 5.9/10. <I give these reviews & numbers so you can judge if you wanna watch it>

ps-best part? Hm...can't say fav scene, but most memorable was them, singing terribly, while she's taking a piss. Like...you can't say you see that in every movie. lol Piss singing.

side note: I just think with this universe alone, the fascism, multicultures, and especially those viruses, you could write a whole other fucking movie! I just felt like they ruined their own world with a boring story. Oh, and it's called code 46 cuz of chromosomes. They don't say that in the movie, but I found out while looking into it. Kinda smart.

[punkysdilemma-blog]

I saw the film Code 46 in 2005, and since then I’ve always thought something was amiss. How did this brilliant, cerebral sci-fi film completely slip through the cracks?

No one seemed to talk about it upon its release in 2004, despite strong performances from Tim Robbins and a young Samantha Morton—fresh off the excellent Minority Report (2002), which explored similar themes. And now, two decades later, Code 46 remains frustratingly underappreciated.

The story offers a deeper, more grounded take on the ideas behind 1997's Gattaca. While Gattaca presented a polished parable about privilege, genetics, and the nature vs. nurture debate, Code 46 roots its dystopian vision in a more plausible and chilling reality. Tim Robbins plays a fraud investigator tasked with tracking down a counterfeiter producing fraudulent papels—documents that act as a combined residency permit and passport for the gleaming city-states of the future.

Armed with an "empathy virus" that allows him to intuit the thoughts of others, Robbins’ character quickly identifies his culprit. Yet he becomes infatuated with her, and their subsequent affair, along with its fallout, propels the story forward. Without spoiling too much, the film’s use of real-world locations plays a significant role in building its semi-dystopian setting. Shanghai’s rapidly modernizing skyline creates a credible vision of these contented, antiseptic city-states, where citizens speak a hybrid argot of English, Chinese, Spanish, and French, record moments via contact lenses, and save memories with their fingerprints. Later scenes move outside the city-states, offering an evocative contrast by depicting the barren, ecologically damaged "outside" through stunning shots of the Port of Jebel Ali and Rajasthan in India.

The restrained but distinctive art direction, paired with the decision to lightly dress modern urban environments, gives the film an enduringly fresh aesthetic. The world of Code 46 feels lived-in and unsettlingly familiar. Its technology—sickly, antiseptic, and unnervingly mundane—stands in stark contrast to the sleek, high-concept design of many of its sci-fi contemporaries.

The atmosphere is further elevated by David Holmes’ mesmerising score, created under his Free Association project. A striking blend of ambient techno, Sigur Rós-inspired post-rock soundscapes, and shoegaze-infused guitars perfectly complements the film's washed-out Gen-X soft-club aesthetic.

If you enjoyed the slower, mood-driven beats of sci-fi films like Her (2013) or Ad Astra (2019), Code 46 is an underrated gem you owe it to yourself to discover.

Trailer

[minzbins-moved]

LEE KNOW SKZ CODE, EP.46

[saibagals]

[linolinoing]

SKZ CODE INTRO

[akq96618]

the end is unpredictable,

that’s why my life is even more beautiful

I'll embrace even my failures

happily ever after - TXT

[eossa]

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[hamable]

I’ve been so caught up thinking about the fight sequences and the animation styles and the writing and the antics aand the everything about Spy Family Code White that I forgot about the Ferris wheel. Oh my god oh my god oh my god the Ferris wheel.

[werevamp13]

“Greets them darkly” I love the caption-master’s sense of humor 💀💀

[earlymorningfoxhunt]

arthur lester I feel you, I also have never had a good trip with shoosh

[nature-in-movies]

Code 46 (2003)

[wack-ashimself]

"Everybody's children are so special; it makes you wonder where all the ordinary grown ups come from." -code 46 (that line SLAPS!)

[thelionheartedo3]

"rinn," I hear u say, "you have 3 docs open, surely they're your old wips that you are making progress on."

and unfortunately for all of us. they are not.

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