Quick take: Code 46
Michael Winterbottom's Code 46 is definitely a sci-fi film that's not an action movie. It's a bit of private-detective story, but almost in the same way "The Prisoner" was a spy drama. Code 46 is ultimately an interior journey.
The movie explores a future Earth where in-vitro fertilization is effectively mandatory and travel is highly restricted, for reasons that are never made clear. It's similar to Gattaca in that its hypothetical world is more original and thought-provoking than in most sci-fi scenarios. In Code 46, for example, there are a lot of people trying to get permission to live in Shanghai, just as there are in real life. But in the movie, the whole world is like that. In fact, to travel anywhere, people need "cover," a concept that's never explained.
Not surprisingly, the story sends its protagonists lots of places -- one of which is quite obviously not the city it's supposed to be -- as it plays with this idea. Gattaca has the stronger story, subtext, and questions, but in Code 46, you do get to see more.
The movie explores a future Earth where in-vitro fertilization is effectively mandatory and travel is highly restricted, for reasons that are never made clear. It's similar to Gattaca in that its hypothetical world is more original and thought-provoking than in most sci-fi scenarios. In Code 46, for example, there are a lot of people trying to get permission to live in Shanghai, just as there are in real life. But in the movie, the whole world is like that. In fact, to travel anywhere, people need "cover," a concept that's never explained.
Not surprisingly, the story sends its protagonists lots of places -- one of which is quite obviously not the city it's supposed to be -- as it plays with this idea. Gattaca has the stronger story, subtext, and questions, but in Code 46, you do get to see more.
posted by Steve at
9:32 AM
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