German-born filmmaker Michael Haneke continues the bleak, formalist experimentation of his 1994 breakthrough 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance with this similarly fragmented tale of racism, intolerance, and hatred in modern-day Paris. The focus of the narrative is split between three sets of people: the French actress Anne (Juliette Binoche), her husband and in-laws; a Romanian woman, Maria (Luminita Gheorghiu), who struggles to raise money for her family back home; and Amadou (Ona Lu
Yenke), a teacher for the deaf who is at odds with his resolute African clan. The catalyst for the stories begins on a streetcorner, where Anne's brother-in-law Jean (Alexandre Hamadi) insults Maria, who is begging for change; incensed, Amadou picks a fight with Jean, resulting in negative repercussions for the triptych of protagonists. Throughout, Haneke punctuates the action with his unique editing and use of sound. After its Cannes debut, Code Inconnu made its North American premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
Haneke has a sure way with actors -- allowing them to seem to be living rather than acting their roles -- tat matches his ability to capture the rhythms and routines of everyday life with a graceful, unstudied ease.
Code Unknown gets at the ache and angst of the human condition in ways that shiver with telling detail and the machinations of real life. It's powerful.
Even if it's a bit 'foreign' and arty, it's also consistently gripping, thoughtful, powerful stuff, assembled in an unusual way that catches us off guard and never preaches.
Code Unknown is a relatively subtle piece considering it's from Haneke, just when you think it is going to go down the somewhat cliched 'Chaos theory' route it doesn't and his unfinished approach to films possibly works best here. It can be frustrating at times though as some characters get more development than others
but it also has its brilliant intense moments that Haneke is now famous for. The scene with the little boy next to the pool is a real edge of your seat moment. All in all, really good, it certainly has hints of his later and in my opinion, best works so a good introduction to the director.
No quotes approved yet for Code Unknown (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages). Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'Code Unknown (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages)'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Top Critic
