Code 46 (2003)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Obtaining Cover: Inside Code 46 Deleted Scenes-4 Theatrical Trailer Trailer-MGM Montage, De-Lovely, Wicker Park
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	89:25
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (64:48)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Michael Winterbottom
Studio Distributor	MGM	Starring	Tim Robbins Togo Igawa Nabil Elouhabi Samantha Morton Sarah Backhouse Jonathan Ibbotson Natalie Jackson Mendoza Om Puri Emil Marwa Nina Fog Bruno Lastra Christopher Simpson Lien Nguyin
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	David Holmes Chris Martin

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    If you fell in love with someone and society decided they were wrong for you, what would you do? Continue the relationship anyway and take the consequences or never see the person again? This is the conundrum which faces the main character in Code 46. The title refers to a law which exists in this vision of the future that outlaws people with similar or identical DNA from having sexual relations or bearing children together. The problem exists because of the widespread use of cloning technology, which means that many people have similar DNA without realising they have any relationship to each other.

    William (Tim Robbins), a married insurance fraud investigator flies from his home in Seattle to Shanghai to investigate the fraudulent creation of papeles, which are short term insurance cover certificates which allow someone to leave their home city and journey somewhere else in the world for a specific purpose. William, for example, must have a papele to allow him to travel to Shanghai. People without either a home city or cover cannot enter the major cities where most of the world's population live. Outside the main cities the rest of humanity live in squalor and poverty. They are desperate to get cover and will do anything to obtain it.

    When William arrives in Shanghai and begins to investigate the fraud, he meets and becomes interested in a young woman who works for a company that issues papeles, Maria Gonzales (Samantha Morton). It quickly becomes obvious to him that Maria is involved in the fraudulent production of papeles but his feelings for her stop him from turning her in. The movie follows their relationship as it develops.

    This movie is a fascinating and different vision of the future which certainly is not easy to compare to previous films, although it does have some similarities with Gattaca, which was also about how your genetic makeup might affect your future and desires. Another film which it has some similarities to is Lost in Translation, although personally I found this a better film than that. There are many interesting science fiction touches included here such as a widely used generic language (like a real Esperanto), the ability to easily get body part transplants, taking 'viruses' to increase one of your senses or skills for a short period of time and more. These are well used rather than being the focal point: they are merely used to support the story, which is fascinating.

    The acting is excellent from both of the leads, helped by the well written dialogue, and the ending is great, not pandering to any desire for a Hollywood style ending. The cinematography is also first rate, as is the direction by Michael Winterbottom, despite one lapse into 9 Songs territory in terms of gratuitous nudity which really doesn't add anything to the story.

    All in all, this is a great addition to the science fiction genre which would certainly be enjoyed by people who like intelligent movies. It is not a film full of action but rather is filled with great storytelling, true emotions, excellent acting and an original and thought-provoking premise.

.

Video

    The video quality is excellent, and virtually without blemish.

    The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was extremely clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was excellent.

    The colour was excellent, really bringing out the intended colour scheme and the difference between the semi-darkness and artificial light of the cities and the harsh light of the deserts.

    I noticed one spot of minor aliasing at 81:10 on a car grille, but generally this is artefact free.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. These were clear and easy to read and very close to the spoken word.

    The layer change occurs at 64:48 and caused a slight pause.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is also excellent.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The score of this film by The Free Association is wonderful, adding significantly to the bitter sweet feel of the film and providing dreamy, cool atmospherics.

    The surround speakers were not used significantly for directional effects, however did provide a nice immersive soundtrack featuring atmosphere and music.

    The subwoofer added bass to the music as required - exactly what you would expect in a film like this.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    A minimal collection of extras is included.

Obtaining Cover : Inside Code 46 (16:10)

    This is a promotional featurette but is still quite interesting. It includes interviews with Michael Winterbottom, the writer, Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton during which they discuss the concept, the story, technical issues and the locations used such as India, Dubai and Shanghai itself. Watch out for the worst pair of sunglasses ever worn by a movie star on Samantha Morton. They look like she stole them off your 65 year old aunt. Presented in 4x3.

Deleted Scenes

    Four fairly uninteresting deleted scenes are included, presented in 4x3. The scenes included are

• Tempting Fate (1:09) - The most interesting one includes more details about cover.
• The Lift (0:25) - A short conversation about nothing in a lift.
• Cover (0:23) - The two leads running on a roof. Meaningless.
• Hurt (0:32) - A short post-sex discussion.

Original Theatrical Trailer (1:58)

    Top quality trailer which really draws you into the film's premise.

Other Trailers

    Trailers for De Lovely & Wicker Park.

    This movie has recently been released in Region 1 in a very similar format. The differences are quite minor and are as follows:

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

• French & Spanish subtitles

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

• Nothing

    On this basis you may as well call it a draw.

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is excellent.

    The set has a small collection of average quality extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall