Review of Code 46 (2003) by Jóan Petur P — 05 Jan 2008

Superb low-budget love-drama sci-fi social commentary. Think 'Gattaca' mixed with the work of Asian auters such as Wong Kar-Wai (Chungking Express, 2046). If you understood any of that then check it out for sure.

WATCH IT WITH SUBTITLES ON IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT! For many reasons this film is realistic and one of those reasons is it's set in a more multicultural world than ever before and so there are loads of foreign phrases as well as unfamiliar lingo in the dialogue. You will need those subtitles on and still be using your brain.

I loved how unimpressive-looking they made the future, even though there are massive systemic differences between their society and ours as well as crazy new technological devices.

I found the fact that insurance controls everything scarier than the genetic angles. But in the end it's a study of a romantic relationship that is forbidden.

Only weakness (which may be a strength too) is that there's no sense of direction in the story. It's good, you're watching it, it just keeps going, where you don't know, and then it's over.