Although I'm not sure CODE 46 qualifies as an indie, it is a really well-made, interesting film and one of the better Reel 13 "Indies" that have aired so far. It is also a welcome departure for director Michael Winterbottom who otherwise seems to specialize in more politically-minded fare (WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, ROAD TO GUANTANAMO, A MIGHTY HEART). With this film, not only does he veer into sci-fi territory, but he also displays the filmmaking skills that shows why many thought he had so much promise in the first place. Those skills used with this less-didactic narrative proved to be terrifically effective.
In Giuliana Bruno's famous essay, "Ramble City: Postmodernism and Blade Runner", she defines postmodernism as a combination of pastiche and schizophrenia (I'm simplifying her explanation a great deal for the sake of this brevity). Though not based on Philip K. Dick in any way, the many great details within the future imagined by Winterbottom and company fits perfectly into this definition. The architecture in BLADE RUNNER, with its classical, almost Gothic approach within its dystopic futuristic world, is probably the most apparent element of pastiche. For CODE 46, it is the language as almost all the characters speak a combination of Chinese, French, Spanish and English, suggesting that in the very near future, the world gets even smaller and cultures are in fact, combined (In BLADE RUNNER, the lower class in LA speaks a mish-mash of Japanese, German and English – in keeping with the film's post-industrialist themes). Instead of going old-school with the architecture a la BLADE RUNNER, the locations/sets in CODE 46 actually look modern (as opposed to futuristic) making the world of CODE 46 feel like a very palpable future (would that be a post-postmodernist concept?).
The schizophrenic element starts with the two lead characters, played by Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton. Robbins qualifies in the sense that he lives two distinct lives – the one in the US with his family and the other in Beijing with Morton and for Morton, she is both a worker and a thief and is also sort of a mixed race-type being the offspring of one parent from the "inside" and the other from the "outside". Though what makes someone banished from the "inside" isn't always clear, the very idea that the world has been essentially divided into two sections – the "inside" and the "outside" is, in and of itself, a schizophrenic quality.
Now that we've examined the level of sci-fi sophistication within the new world of CODE 46 and its place amongst other postmodernist works, it's time to delve into what makes it a good film itself. Firstly, as I suggested earlier, Winterbottom is at the top of his game. The camerawork and angles are outstanding throughout (there is an particularly awesome shot of the reflection of Tim Robbins in Morton's eye). Winterbottom also occasionally utilizes POV angles, which are very effective, especially since they are justified by the way that people's memories seem to be able to be recorded and played back, in lieu of photographs or videocameras. It's unfortunate that Channel 13 presented a version that got panned and scanned because a visual, widescreen film like CODE 46 definitely suffers as a result.
I'm not sure why CODE 46 didn't have a significant impact when it first came out. It's a really intelligent, thought-out script that not only borrows from postmodern science fiction, but also wisely revises the genre to fit its own purpose. As I mentioned, the cinematography, direction and production design are all exceptional, only adding detail and nuance to the already strong and interesting narrative. Perhaps this airing on Reel 13 will allow some to reevaluate CODE 46 and help put it in its rightful place among the strong cerebral sci-fi films of the last twenty-five years.
(For more information on this or any other Reel 13 film, visit www.reel13.org)