critics consensus

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

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Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys Photos

Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys (2000)

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Movie Info

In Paris, one incident is seen through the eyes of several people -- Anne (Juliette Binoche), a stressed actress thirsty for success; her boyfriend Georges (Thierry Neuvic), who is a photographer; Romanian immigrant Maria (Luminita Gheorghiu), who is not legally allowed to work in France and Amadou, (Ona Lu Yenke), a caring teacher who is sympathetic to marginalized people. All become swept up in racial tensions and legal issues that stem from a single, careless act of littering.

Genre:

drama
Original Language:

Romanian
Director:

Michael Haneke
Producer:

Marin Karmitz, Alain Sarde
Writer:

Michael Haneke
Release Date (Theaters):

Nov 30, 2001 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA):

$95.2K
Runtime:

1h 58m
Production Co:

Miramax
Sound Mix:

Surround

Cast & Crew

Juliette Binoche
Anne Laurent

Thierry Neuvic
Georges

Luminita Gheorghiu
Maria

Ona Lu Yenke
Amadou

Helene Diarra
Aminate

Sepp Bierbechler
The Farmer

Show all Cast & Crew

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Critic Reviews for Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys

All Critics (51) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (13)

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.

August 27, 2014 | Full Review…

Anthony Lane
New Yorker
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.

August 27, 2014 | Full Review…

Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
A searing, structurally ingenious look at racial tension on the streets of Paris.

August 27, 2014 | Full Review…

Scott Tobias
AV Club
This film, from Austrian director Michael Haneke, is one of the most uncompromisingly difficult and challenging of the year.

August 27, 2014 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
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.

October 18, 2008 | Full Review…

David Rooney
Variety
[Haneke's] socio-political condemnations assume an aggressively hectoring tone.

September 7, 2006 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
While its reputation has been overshadowed by later works from the filmmaker, it remains a provocative deconstruction of modern anhedonia.

October 20, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
It's a great entry point to his filmography, serving as a good example of Haneke's visual and thematic style.

April 22, 2016 | Rating: 8/10 | Full Review…

Valeriy Kolyadych
PopMatters
Code Unknown is an unusual example of a movie that is socially aware, but that is thankfully equally aware of how tiresome moralising and preaching can be.

August 27, 2014 | Full Review…

Daniel Etherington
Film4
If some of the political theorising is somewhat naive and the direction is occasionally manipulative, the acting, particularly from Juliette Binoche, is superb.

August 27, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

David Parkinson
Radio Times
Haneke brings his usual dark sensibility to bear on the multifaceted story, expressing the fractured quality of modern city life through scenes that wander through a labyrinth of missing links and lost connections.

August 27, 2014 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor
With virtually no music and very little expository dialogue, this is one of the rare films with enough faith in moviegoers to let them figure things out for themselves.

August 27, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Ken Fox
TV Guide

View All Critic Reviews (51)

Audience Reviews for Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys

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