Code Unknown

''Code Unknown'' (french: Code inconnu : Récit incomplet de divers voyages) is a 2000 film directed by Michael Haneke. Most of the story occurs in Paris, France, where the fates of several characters intersect and connect.

''Code Unknown'' is composed of unedited long takes filmed in real time, cut only when the perspective within a scene changes from one character's to another's in the middle of the action. A special edition of the film was released on Blu-ray in 2015 by The Criterion Collection. The film is inspired by the life of the French novelist and war reporter Olivier Weber.

''Code Unknown'' is a co-production among France, Germany and Romania.

Plot

The film features several different storylines, all of which intersect periodically throughout the film.

The film begins with a brief prologue. We see a young girl in a white room standing near a wall. She crouches near the wall, then stands. Then we see individual children each making a gesture in sign language for a single word. These alternate with the first girl shaking her head. The words include, for instance, Alone, Hiding place, Bad Conscience, Sad, Imprisoned. After the title is shown, the film's opening scene features a brief encounter with four of the main characters: Anne Laurent (Juliette Binoche) is an actress working in Paris, and she walks briefly with her boyfriend's younger brother Jean. After they part, Jean throws a piece of garbage at Maria, a homeless woman sitting on the side of the road. Amadou, the child of Malian immigrants, witnesses this and confronts Jean. The two fight, and eventually Amadou and Maria are both taken to a police station for questioning. Amadou is released presumably shortly after, though we learn that he was held, beaten and shamed, but Maria is deported to her native Romania and she reconnects with her family there.

Cast

* Juliette Binoche - Anne Laurent
* Thierry Neuvic - Georges
* Josef Bierbichler - The Farmer (as Sepp Bierbichler)
* Alexandre Hamidi - Jean
* Maimouna Hélène Diarra - Aminate
* Ona Lu Yenke - Amadou
* Didier Flamand - The Director
* Djibril Kouyaté - The Father
* Marc Duret - The Policeman
* Luminița Gheorghiu - Maria
* Crenguta Hariton - Irina (as Crenguta Hariton Stoica)
* Aïssa Maïga - Black Girl with Blonde Hair

Reception

''Code Unknown'' holds a 74/100 on Metacritic, based on 13 critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports 75% approval among 51 critics, with an weighted arithmetic mean, average score of 7/10. The site's consensus reads: "Though challengingly cryptic at times, ''Code Unknown'' still manages to resonate."

Accolades

''Code Unknown'' screened in competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Cinematographer Jürges was nominated for the "Golden Frog" at the Camerimage awards.

The film received votes from two critics and four directors, including Ruben Östlund, in the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' polls of the world's greatest films.

See also

*List of films featuring the deaf and hard of hearing

References

External links

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''Code Unknown: Eurovisions''
an essay by Nick James (critic), Nick James at the Criterion Collection

{{Michael Haneke

2000 films
2000s Arabic-language films
2000 drama films
2000s English-language films
Films directed by Michael Haneke
Films set in Paris
2000s French-language films
French Sign Language films
2000s German-language films
Malinka-language films
2000s Romanian-language films
Films produced by Marin Karmitz
Hyperlink films
French drama films
German drama films
Romanian drama films
2000 multilingual films
French multilingual films
German multilingual films
Romanian multilingual films
2000s French films
2000s German films