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{{short description|2003 British film by Michael Winterbottom}}
{{Infobox_Film |
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
name = Code 46 |
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
image = Code_46_movie.jpg |
{{Infobox film
caption = ''Code 46'' film poster |
writer = ] | | name = Code 46
| image = Code_46_movie.jpg
starring = ],<br>],<br>] |
director = ] | | caption = ''Code 46'' film poster
producer = ] | | director = ]
| writer = ]
distributor = ]<br>] <small>(USA)</small>|
released = ], ] | | producer = ]
runtime = 92 min. | | starring = {{plainlist|
* ]
language = English |
* ]
budget = ~ US$7,500,000 |
* ]
imdb_id = 0345061 |
}}
| cinematography = {{plainlist|
* ]
* Marcel Zyskind
}}
| editing = Peter Christellis
| music = ] ]
| studio = {{plainlist|
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
}}
| distributor = Verve Pictures
| released = {{Film date|2003|9|2|]|2003|9|17|df=y}}
| runtime = 93 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget = $7.5 million
| gross = $886,018
}} }}
'''''Code 46''''' is a ] ] ] directed by ], screenplay by ]. It is a disquieting ] love story with many themes associated with the ] genre.


'''''Code 46''''' is a 2003 British film directed by ], written by ], and starring ] and ]. Produced by ] and ], the film is a ]n ] ], exploring the implications of current trends in ].
==Main cast==

*] &mdash; William Geld
The soundtrack was composed by ] and ] under the name "Free Association". Filmed on location in ], ] and ], with interiors done onstage in ], the mesh of foreign locations was chosen due to the juxtaposition of elements in these cities offering a believable futuristic setting.
*] &mdash; Driver
*] &mdash; Vendor
*] &mdash; Maria Gonzalez
*] &mdash; Bahkland
*] &mdash; Sylvie
*] &mdash; Clinic Receptionist


==Plot== ==Plot==
In the year 2077, the world is divided between those who live "inside", in high-density cities, and the underclass who live "outside" in massive concentration camps. Access to the cities is highly restricted and regulated through the use of Bio-Passports, known as "papeles" in the global ] language of the day.
*]: ''How do you solve a crime when the last thing you want to know is the truth?''
{{spoiler}}


William Geld, an insurance fraud investigator from the NUSA (New United States of America, the successor state to the US following a second civil war), is sent to ] in the Chinese Federation, an authoritarian state which occupies all of east Asia, to interview employees at a company known as "The Sphinx", which manufactures the papeles. William's assignment is to identify employees who are suspected of forging "covers". After interviewing numerous Sphinx employees, he identifies a young worker named Maria Gonzalez as the forger. William is captivated by her, and instead of turning her over to security, he identifies another employee as the forger. William then meets up with Maria and they begin an affair. As Maria sleeps, William finds a forged cover in her room and takes it.
It is the not-too-distant future, ] which appears to suffer from ] and large scale environmental degradation. The population is divided between those who live "inside", in high density cities physically separated from "outside", where the poor and underclasses live. Access into and travel between the cities is highly restricted, and regulated through the use of "]," known as "papeles" in a global ] language which has developed (which appears to comprise elements of English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Mandarin). Residents of the cities venture outside at night and remain indoors during the day, as direct sunlight has become hazardous to their health, perhaps through ]. The ] appears to be somewhat ] in nature, and society is regulated by various "codes". The eponymous code of the movie title prohibits "genetically incestuous reproduction", which may often occur as a result of the various medical technologies which have become commonplace, such as ].


William is reprimanded for not discovering the true Sphinx forger. He requests that someone else be sent, as there may have been an accomplice to the innocent man he fingered. However, he is ordered to deal with the problem and to return to Shanghai.
The main character is William Geld (]), an insurance ] investigator based in ] who is sent to ] to interview employees at a company known as "The ]", which manufacturers insurance cover documents. William's assignment is to identify employees who are suspected of forging and smuggling covers.


Upon his return, William discovers that Maria's apartment is abandoned and the only clue is a medical clinic appointment. He visits the clinic and learns that Maria was pregnant and that the pregnancy was terminated due to a violation of ] Code 46. William knows that this means Maria is somehow genetically related to him, but he has no idea how.
With the aid of a ] "] ]", William is able to obtain unstated information from people if they voluntarily reveal something about themselves. After interviewing numerous Sphinx employees, he identifies a young worker named Maria Gonzalez (]) as the cover forger. Maria tells William that she has the same dream each birthday: She is travelling the ] to meet someone she cannot identify. Each birthday she is one ] closer to her destination, where she expects to meet the person she is looking for. William is captivated by her, and instead of turning her over to security, identifies another employee as the forger.


William discovers that Maria has been taken by the Genetic Police to have her memory of the episode erased. He gets the clinic to release Maria into his care by telling them she is a witness in his fraud investigation. After she is released, William tells her about the memory erasure and about how he didn't report her for fraud. Maria is disturbed by this information and becomes very distressed. William gives her a sleeping pill and, while she is sleeping, he cuts some hair from her head and takes it to a facility providing instant DNA analysis. He discovers that Maria is a biological ] of his mother. William decides to go home to his family, but is not allowed to do so, as his 24-hour cover has expired.
William then follows Maria and they secretly meet and begin an affair. They have dinner, then end up in a nightclub. She puts complete trust in the man who could have had her arrested, and reveals how she was able to smuggle covers out of the company. A gentleman named Damian (]) then appears and Maria hands him a cover document. Damien is a naturalist who longs to travel to ] to study ]s. William is upset by the supply of the cover to Damian and indicates that he should turn Maria over to the authorities, but Maria somehow knows that William would not do this. William explains that there are legitimate reasons why Damian is unable to obtain the proper clearances legally. However, Maria believes that risks are worth taking to fulfil one's dreams and no one has any right to interfere if those she helps are willing to take that risk.


William then realises that his only hope of returning home is to get a papel from Maria. She goes to work to obtain a papel, but is unable to forge one herself, as she was moved to another area of work, so a co-worker makes the cover for her. While taking a train to meet William, her memory returns and she recalls her feelings for William. He decides not to leave her.
William and Maria then leave for her apartment where they spend a passionate night together. While there Maria shows William her "memory scrapbook" (an electronic booklet which records and displays video), which contains memories of her parents and close friends. Other movies show her passing off cover documents to various people. Maria says she thinks these people are beautiful; their eyes are full of desire and dreams, and she wants to help them. As Maria sleeps, William finds a forged cover in her room and takes it.


William and Maria then travel to ] in the ], which does not require special travel clearance. The two hide out in the old city where they book a room. William reveals to Maria that, in addition to the memory wiping, she has been "Bio-Conditioned" so that she suffers extreme fear in response to physical contact with the person who brought about the Code 46 violation. He refrains from telling her the Bio-Conditioning will also force her to report the further Code 46 violation to the authorities. They rent an old car and travel away to escape the authorities who are tracking them through their implanted Bio-Passports. William crashes the car while avoiding a collision with camels and pedestrians and they are both knocked unconscious.
Wiliam's travel cover expires the next day so he returns home to his family. On the way to the airport, he stops to give the forged cover document to a poor street vendor at the city's perimeter checkpoint, an act of humanity which could change the anonymous vendor's life. A few days later he learns that Damien died in Delhi after exposure to a virus to which he had no immunity, and it is known that Damien was able to travel there using a forged cover made while William was in Shanghai. William is reprimanded by his superior for not discovering the true Sphinx forger. William explains that he had trouble with his empathy virus and requests that someone else be sent. However, he is ordered to deal with the problem and to return to Shanghai to complete his assignment.


William awakes in the hospital in Seattle, NUSA, with his wife and child. He has no memory of Maria or the Code 46 violation, as all memories of her and their time together have been replaced with memories of a successful investigation. Maria is more severely punished by being exiled "outside," to the desert, and stripped of human status, legally making her a wild animal. Her memories are altered to make her believe that she is a murderer, as she is forced to live in slavery in the radioactive wastelands for the rest of her life.
Upon his return William discovers that Maria has gone. Her apartment is abandoned and the only clue to her whereabouts is an appointment scheduled at a medical clinic. He visits the clinic and using his abilities learns that Maria was pregnant, but that the pregnancy was terminated due to a violation of Code 46. William knows that this means Maria is somehow genetically related to him, but he has no idea how this is possible.


==Cast==
Meanwhile, the authorities have responded to the Code 46 violation by erasing Maria's memory of the man who impregnated her, but no action has been taken against William because she did not reveal who he was.
{{Cast listing|
* ] as William Geld
* ] as Maria Gonzalez
* ] as a "Driver"
* ] as a "Sphinx Receptionist"
* ] as a "Vendor"
* ] as William's Boss
* ] as Bahkland
* ] as Sylvie
* ] as a clinic "Hospital Receptionist"
* ] as a "Check-In" agent
* ] as Clinic Doctor
}}


==See also==
William discovers that Maria has been taken to another institution for the memory treatment and he travels there to get her out. He is able to do so by indicating that Maria is a witness in his fraud investigation. After she is released William reminds Maria of their time together as recorded in the memory scrapbook and her feelings of love for him return.
{{Portal|Film}}
*]


==References==
While she is sleeping, William takes a hair from Maria to a facility which provides instantaneous DNA analysis (similar to the one portrayed in '']''), and discovers that Maria is 50 percent genetically related to him, which means that she is a biological ] of his mother who was an ] child. This knowledge does not affect William's feelings, but he does not reveal the information to Maria.
{{refbegin}}
{{reflist}}
*{{cite news |first=Kurt |last=Loder |work=] |title='Code 46' is eerily memorable |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1490011/20040806/story.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027003319/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1490011/20040806/story.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 October 2010 |date=6 August 2004 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Desson |last=Thomson |newspaper=] |title=A Cryptic 'Code 46' |page=WE42 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59697-2004Aug12.html |date=13 August 2004 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |work=] |title=Morton and Robbins crack film code |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3656250.stm |date=17 September 2004 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Byrnes |work=] |title=Code 46 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/reviews/code-46/2005/08/03/1122748696471.html |date=4 August 2005 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Alex |last=Murray |work=] |title=Film: Code 46 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/dvd-reviews/code-46/2005/09/26/1127524934251.html |date=26 September 2005 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Roger |last=Ebert |work=] |title=Code 46 |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040813/REVIEWS/408130301/1023.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203054744/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040813/REVIEWS/408130301/1023.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2013 |date=13 August 2004 |access-date=9 September 2012 }}
*{{cite news |first=Carla |last=Meyer |work=] |title=Lovers who long to set others free / Genes are passports in coercive sci-fi world of 'Code 46' |url=http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Lovers-who-long-to-set-others-free-Genes-are-2701812.php |date= 13 August 2004 |access-date=9 September 2012}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
William and Maria travel to ] in the ], which does not require special travel clearance. The two hide out in the old city where they book a room. William discovers that as part of Maria's memory wiping that she has been given a virus that induces a terrorizing adrenaline rush in response to physical sexual contact with the person who brought about the Code 46 violation. However, Maria still wants to make love with William so has him tie her down to prevent her from physically responding negatively.
* {{IMDb title|id=0345061|title=Code 46}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|code_46}}
* {{Mojo title|code46}}
* with ], first broadcast on ]
*


{{Michael Winterbottom}}
Afterward, Maria enters a ] state also caused by her virus which forces her to report the further Code 46 violation to the authorities. She is unconscious of this though William is aware of the virus's reaction. They then rent an old car and travel away across the wasteland to escape the authorities who are tracking them. William eventually crashes the car while avoiding a collision with pedestrians, while Maria is playing with the steering wheel, and they are both knocked unconscious.
{{Méliès d'Or}}

When William awakens he finds himself in Seattle with his wife and child. He has no memory of Maria or the Code 46 violation as all memories of her and their time together has been completely flushed from his mind. The authorities had brought William before a tribunal, but decided the empathy virus had affected his judgement. Perhaps significantly, he attempts to use the empathy virus to read his son's thoughts on the drive back from the hospital, but is unable to. Maria is more severely punished and sent to live in exile in the wasteland "outside." However, she retains her memories of William, and her subway dream becomes complete; the person she meets at the final stop on the track is William.

==Code 46==

:''Article 1''

: Any human being who shares the same nuclear gene set as another human being is deemed to be genetically identical. The relations of one are the relations of all.

: Due to IVF, DI embryo splitting and cloning techniques it is necessary to prevent any accidental or deliberate genetically incestuous reproduction.

: Therefore:

:: I. All prospective parents should be genetically screened before conception. If they have 100%, 50% or 25% genetic identity they are not permitted to conceive

:: II. If the pregnancy is unplanned, the foetus must be screened. Any pregnancy resulting from 100%, 50% or 25% genetically related parents must be terminated immediately

:: III. If the parents were ignorant of their genetic relationship then medical intervention is authorized to prevent any further breach of Code 46

:: IV. If the parents knew they were genetically related prior to conception it is a criminal breach of Code 46.

==Reactions==

The film ''Code 46'''s ] depiction of the necessity to enforce laws against "genetic ]" is sometimes cited by ] critics in support of their view that ] should be suppressed. However, ] ] ] argues that such laws are 1) not only an infringement on the ] of citizens but 2) they have no ] in ] (which should not be confused with ]), and only make sense as a ]-induced reaction to the idea of ] and possible "incest" among ]s of a brother and sister, or other combination coupling.

==Trivia==
*] of ] sings The Clash song "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" in the ] club scene.
*46 is, probably not coincidentally, the number of chromosomes (23 pairs) in human DNA.

==External links==
*
*{{imdb title|id=0345061|title=Code 46}}


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Latest revision as of 22:01, 21 December 2024

2003 British film by Michael Winterbottom

Code 46
Code 46 film poster
Directed byMichael Winterbottom
Written byFrank Cottrell Boyce
Produced byAndrew Eaton
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byPeter Christellis
Music byFree Association
Production
companies
Distributed byVerve Pictures
Release dates
  • 2 September 2003 (2003-09-02) (Venice)
  • 17 September 2003 (2003-09-17)
Running time93 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.5 million
Box office$886,018

Code 46 is a 2003 British film directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and starring Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton. Produced by BBC Films and Revolution Films, the film is a dystopian sci-fi love story, exploring the implications of current trends in biotechnology.

The soundtrack was composed by David Holmes and Stephen Hilton under the name "Free Association". Filmed on location in Shanghai, Dubai and Rajasthan, with interiors done onstage in London, the mesh of foreign locations was chosen due to the juxtaposition of elements in these cities offering a believable futuristic setting.

Plot

In the year 2077, the world is divided between those who live "inside", in high-density cities, and the underclass who live "outside" in massive concentration camps. Access to the cities is highly restricted and regulated through the use of Bio-Passports, known as "papeles" in the global pidgin language of the day.

William Geld, an insurance fraud investigator from the NUSA (New United States of America, the successor state to the US following a second civil war), is sent to Shanghai in the Chinese Federation, an authoritarian state which occupies all of east Asia, to interview employees at a company known as "The Sphinx", which manufactures the papeles. William's assignment is to identify employees who are suspected of forging "covers". After interviewing numerous Sphinx employees, he identifies a young worker named Maria Gonzalez as the forger. William is captivated by her, and instead of turning her over to security, he identifies another employee as the forger. William then meets up with Maria and they begin an affair. As Maria sleeps, William finds a forged cover in her room and takes it.

William is reprimanded for not discovering the true Sphinx forger. He requests that someone else be sent, as there may have been an accomplice to the innocent man he fingered. However, he is ordered to deal with the problem and to return to Shanghai.

Upon his return, William discovers that Maria's apartment is abandoned and the only clue is a medical clinic appointment. He visits the clinic and learns that Maria was pregnant and that the pregnancy was terminated due to a violation of U.N. Code 46. William knows that this means Maria is somehow genetically related to him, but he has no idea how.

William discovers that Maria has been taken by the Genetic Police to have her memory of the episode erased. He gets the clinic to release Maria into his care by telling them she is a witness in his fraud investigation. After she is released, William tells her about the memory erasure and about how he didn't report her for fraud. Maria is disturbed by this information and becomes very distressed. William gives her a sleeping pill and, while she is sleeping, he cuts some hair from her head and takes it to a facility providing instant DNA analysis. He discovers that Maria is a biological clone of his mother. William decides to go home to his family, but is not allowed to do so, as his 24-hour cover has expired.

William then realises that his only hope of returning home is to get a papel from Maria. She goes to work to obtain a papel, but is unable to forge one herself, as she was moved to another area of work, so a co-worker makes the cover for her. While taking a train to meet William, her memory returns and she recalls her feelings for William. He decides not to leave her.

William and Maria then travel to Jebel Ali in the UAE, which does not require special travel clearance. The two hide out in the old city where they book a room. William reveals to Maria that, in addition to the memory wiping, she has been "Bio-Conditioned" so that she suffers extreme fear in response to physical contact with the person who brought about the Code 46 violation. He refrains from telling her the Bio-Conditioning will also force her to report the further Code 46 violation to the authorities. They rent an old car and travel away to escape the authorities who are tracking them through their implanted Bio-Passports. William crashes the car while avoiding a collision with camels and pedestrians and they are both knocked unconscious.

William awakes in the hospital in Seattle, NUSA, with his wife and child. He has no memory of Maria or the Code 46 violation, as all memories of her and their time together have been replaced with memories of a successful investigation. Maria is more severely punished by being exiled "outside," to the desert, and stripped of human status, legally making her a wild animal. Her memories are altered to make her believe that she is a murderer, as she is forced to live in slavery in the radioactive wastelands for the rest of her life.

Cast

See also

References

External links

Michael Winterbottom filmography
Méliès d'Or winning films
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