Code Unknown (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages)

Critics Consensus

Though challengingly cryptic at times, Code Unknown still manages to resonate.

74%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 50

79%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 5,133
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Movie Info

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

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Cast

Juliette Binoche
as Anne
Thierry Neuvic
as Georges
Josef Bierbichler
as The Farmer
Alexandre Hamidi
as Jean
Maimouna Hélène Diarra
as Aminate
Helene Diarra
as Aminate
Ona Lu Yenke
as Amadou
Djibril Kouyaté
as The Father
Luminita Gheorghiu
as Maria
Crenguta Hariton Stoica
as Irina
Bob Niculescu
as Dragos
Bruno Todeschini
as Pierre
Paulus Manker
as Perrin
Didier Flamand
as The Director
Walid Afkir
as The Young Arab
Maurice Bénichou
as The Old Arab
Carlo Brandt
as Henri
Philippe Demarle
as Paul
Marc Duret
as The Policeman
Arsinée Khanjian
as Francine
Florence Loiret-Caille
as Amadou's Friend
Nathalie Richard
as Mathilde
Andree Tainsy
as Mrs. Becker
Elisabeth Marceul
as Child
Melissande Zeddam
as Child
Brandon Croteau
as Child
Sonia Chauvelin
as Child
Baptiste Gintzburger-Batle
as Child
Sarah Agogue Tasse
as Child
Alexandra Croteau
as Child
Jerome Ferreira
as Child
Melanie Lhote
as Child
Jose Marques
as Child
Guessi Diakite-Goumdo
as Child
Jean-Yves Chatelais
as Child
Laurent Suire
as Child
Malick Bowens
as Child
Ioan Marian Boris
as Nicu
Monica Popa
as Nuta
Ada Navrot
as Florica
Giba Goncalves
as Percussion Teacher
Tsuya Bridwell
as David's Friend
Antoine Mathieu
as Restaurant Waiter
Constantin Barbebulescu
as Mihai Popa
Domeke Meite
as Demba
Aïssa Maïga
as Girl with Blonde Hair
Marany Pofana
as Youssouf's Sister
Costel Cascaval
as Man in the Garden
Mihai Gruia Sandu
as Group Leader
Daniel Dublet
as Uncle
Boris Napes
as Father in Cemetery
Isabelle Pietra
as Mother in Cemetery
Cristina Ioanidis
as Tatiana
Ion Haiduc
as Man in Squat
Guillaume Morvilliers
as Pierrot
Pascal Loison
as Jolly Man
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Critic Reviews for Code Unknown (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages)

All Critics (50) | Top Critics (18)

  • The violence, in short, remains unseen, but that makes it no easier to bear; what lurks and wails behind a wall is, for Haneke, the most reliable wellspring of dread.

    Aug 27, 2014 | Full Review…

    Anthony Lane

    New Yorker
    Top Critic

  • A procession of long virtuoso takes that typically begin and end in the middle of actions or sentences, constituting not only an interactive jigsaw puzzle but a thrilling narrative experiment.

    Aug 27, 2014 | Full Review…

    Jonathan Rosenbaum

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • A searing, structurally ingenious look at racial tension on the streets of Paris.

    Aug 27, 2014 | Full Review…

    Scott Tobias

    AV Club
    Top Critic

  • This film, from Austrian director Michael Haneke, is one of the most uncompromisingly difficult and challenging of the year.

    Aug 27, 2014 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • All this unrelenting bleakness would be fine if it went someplace interesting, but the film's themes never coalesce into anything beyond basic existential angst.

    Oct 18, 2008 | Full Review…

    David Rooney

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • Despite the film's Bressonian rigours, its emotional force should finally give the lie to Haneke's reputation as a coldly academic film-maker.

    Feb 9, 2006 | Full Review…

    Geoff Andrew

    Time Out
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (50)

Audience Reviews for Code Unknown (Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages)

  • Aug 07, 2015
    An intriguing experiment that is sadly too bleak and dull to retain interest.
    Marcus W Super Reviewer
  • Jun 11, 2014
    An intelligent and post-structuralist narrative exercise that, shot in a series of single-take fragments, plays with the structural codes that form the basis of storytelling to reflect how people can't understand each other in this society with their very own signs (languages, gestures, cultures, moral values).
    Carlos M Super Reviewer
  • Aug 02, 2010
    a michael haneke film, before his funny games, juliet binoche is a good watch as we watch her deal with various things in her life, as we begin with her encounter with 2 other people, we then follow the three, admittinly one isnt seen much while other is interesting, its binoches story whisch is draw, there are some good dramatic moments and keeps story interesting
    scott g Super Reviewer
  • Jun 02, 2010
    A strange tale, if indeed it can be called that. The subtitle, "Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys" sums it up pretty well. Juliette Binoche was lovely and carried the film. The rest was just window dressing and had no obvious connecting narrative, or meaning, beyond each individual scene. The use of jarring jump cuts from one scene to the next emphasized the discontinuity and left one somewhat bewildered as to how it all fit together. That obviously was the director's intention, but it just didn't work for this viewer. If this was supposed to spotlight the way the various characters interconnected, then it succeeded on only a most superficial level. Their lives may have intersected briefly, but one could hardly call it any more than that. Quite disappointing overall.
    Mark A Super Reviewer
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