Editing Code 46

{{short description|2003 British film by Michael Winterbottom}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Code 46
| image          = Code_46_movie.jpg
| caption        = ''Code 46'' film poster
| director       = [[Michael Winterbottom]]
| writer         = [[Frank Cottrell Boyce]]
| producer       = [[Andrew Eaton]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Tim Robbins]]
* [[Samantha Morton]]
* [[Jeanne Balibar]]
}}
| cinematography = {{plainlist|
* [[Alwin H. Küchler|Alwin Kuchler]]
* Marcel Zyskind
}}
| editing         = Peter Christellis
| music          = [[David Holmes (musician)|Free]] [[Stephen Hilton|Association]]
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[United Artists]]
* [[UK Film Council]]
* [[BBC Films]]
* [[Revolution Films]]
}}
| distributor    = Verve Pictures
| released       = {{Film date|2003|9|2|[[60th Venice International Film Festival|Venice]]|2004|9|17|United Kingdom|df=y}}
| runtime        = 93 minutes
| country        = United Kingdom
| language       = English
| budget         = $7.5 million
| gross          = $886,018
}}

'''''Code 46''''' is a 2003 British film directed by [[Michael Winterbottom]], written by [[Frank Cottrell Boyce]], and starring [[Tim Robbins]] and [[Samantha Morton]]. Produced by [[BBC Films]] and [[Revolution Films]], the film is a [[dystopia]]n [[science fiction film|sci-fi]] [[romance film|love story]], exploring the implications of current trends in [[biotechnology]].

The soundtrack was composed by [[David Holmes (musician)|David Holmes]] and [[Stephen Hilton]] under the name "Free Association". Filmed on location in [[Shanghai]], [[Dubai]] and [[Rajasthan]], with interiors done onstage in [[London]], the mesh of foreign locations was chosen due to the juxtaposition of elements in these cities offering a believable futuristic setting.

==Plot==
In the year 2077, the world is divided between those who live "inside", in high-density cities, and the underclass who live "outside" in massive concentration camps. Access to the cities is highly restricted and regulated through the use of Bio-Passports, known as "papeles" in the global [[pidgin]] language of the day.

William Geld, an insurance fraud investigator from the NUSA (New United States of America, the successor state to the US following a second civil war), is sent to [[Shanghai]] in the Chinese Federation, an authoritarian state which occupies all of east Asia, to interview employees at a company known as "The Sphinx", which manufactures the papeles. William's assignment is to identify employees who are suspected of forging "covers". 

After interviewing numerous Sphinx employees, he identifies a young worker named Maria Gonzalez as the forger. William is captivated by her, and instead of turning her over to security, he identifies another employee as the forger. William then meets up with Maria and they begin an affair. As Maria sleeps, William finds a forged cover in her room and takes it.

William is reprimanded for not discovering the true Sphinx forger. He requests that someone else be sent, as there may have been an accomplice to the innocent man he fingered. However, he is ordered to deal with the problem and to return to Shanghai.

Upon his return, William discovers that Maria's apartment is abandoned and the only clue is a medical clinic appointment. He visits the clinic and learns that Maria was pregnant and that the pregnancy was terminated due to a violation of [[U.N.]] Code 46. William knows that this means Maria is somehow genetically related to him, but he has no idea how.

William discovers that Maria has been taken by the Genetic Police to have her memory of the episode erased. He gets the clinic to release Maria into his care by telling them she is a witness in his fraud investigation. After she is released, William tells her about the memory erasure and about how he didn't report her for fraud. Maria is disturbed by this information and becomes very distressed. William gives her a sleeping pill and, while she is sleeping, he cuts some hair from her head and takes it to a facility providing instant DNA analysis. He discovers that Maria is a biological [[cloning|clone]] of his mother. William decides to go home to his family, but is not allowed to do so, as his 24-hour cover has expired.

William then realises that his only hope of returning home is to get a papel from Maria. She goes to work to obtain a papel, but is unable to forge one herself, as she was moved to another area of work, so a co-worker makes the cover for her. While taking a train to meet William, her memory returns and she recalls her feelings for William. He decides not to leave her.

William and Maria then travel to [[Jebel Ali Free Zone|Jebel Ali]] in the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], which does not require special travel clearance. The two hide out in the old city where they book a room. William reveals to Maria that, in addition to the memory wiping, she has been "Bio-Conditioned" so that she suffers extreme fear in response to physical contact with the person who brought about the Code 46 violation. He refrains from telling her the Bio-Conditioning will also force her to report the further Code 46 violation to the authorities. They rent an old car and travel away to escape the authorities who are tracking them through their implanted Bio-Passports. William crashes the car while avoiding a collision with camels and pedestrians and they are both knocked unconscious.

William awakes in the hospital in Seattle, NUSA,  with his wife and child. He has no memory of Maria or the Code 46 violation, as all memories of her and their time together have been replaced with memories of a successful investigation. Maria is more severely punished by being exiled "outside" to the desert, but retains her memories of William.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Tim Robbins]] as William Geld
* [[Samantha Morton]] as Maria Gonzalez
* [[Togo Igawa]] as Driver
* [[Natalie Mendoza]] as Sphinx Receptionist
* [[Nabil Elouahabi]] as Vendor
* [[Shelley King]] as William's Boss
* [[Om Puri]] as Bahkland
* [[Jeanne Balibar]] as Sylvie
* [[Nina Wadia]] as Clinic Hospital Receptionist
* [[Archie Panjabi]] as Check-In Agent
* [[Kerry Shale]] as Clinic Doctor
* [[Essie Davis]] as Doctor
* [[Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist)]] as Singer in Karaoke Bar
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Film}}
*[[List of films featuring surveillance]]

==References==
{{refbegin}}
{{reflist}}
*{{cite news |first=Kurt |last=Loder |work=[[MTV News]] |title='Code 46' is eerily memorable |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1490011/20040806/story.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027003319/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1490011/20040806/story.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 October 2010 |date=6 August 2004 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Desson |last=Thomson |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=A Cryptic 'Code 46' |page=WE42 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59697-2004Aug12.html |date=13 August 2004 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Morton and Robbins crack film code |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3656250.stm |date=17 September 2004 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Byrnes |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |title=Code 46  |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/reviews/code-46/2005/08/03/1122748696471.html |date=4 August 2005 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Alex |last=Murray |work=[[The Age]] |title=Film: Code 46  |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/dvd-reviews/code-46/2005/09/26/1127524934251.html |date=26 September 2005 |access-date=13 September 2010}}
*{{cite news |first=Roger |last=Ebert |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |title=Code 46 |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040813/REVIEWS/408130301/1023.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203054744/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040813/REVIEWS/408130301/1023.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2013 |date=13 August 2004 |access-date=9 September 2012 }}
*{{cite news |first=Carla |last=Meyer |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |title=Lovers who long to set others free / Genes are passports in coercive sci-fi world of 'Code 46'  |url=http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Lovers-who-long-to-set-others-free-Genes-are-2701812.php |date= 13 August 2004 |access-date=9 September 2012}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0345061|title=Code 46}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|code_46}}
* {{Mojo title|code46}}
* [http://panelborders.wordpress.com/2008/12/12/reality-check-michael-winterbottoms-code-46/ Radio interview about ''Code 46''] with [[Michael Winterbottom]], first broadcast on [[Resonance FM]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120415162652/http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/the-future-is-now-sci-fi-films-in-real-locations-49304078/ The future is now: Sci-fic in real locations]

{{Michael Winterbottom}}
{{Méliès d'Or}}

[[Category:2003 films]]
[[Category:BBC Film films]]
[[Category:British science fiction drama films]]
[[Category:2000s dystopian films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Michael Winterbottom]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about cloning]]
[[Category:Films set in the future]]
[[Category:2000s science fiction drama films]]
[[Category:2003 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:Films set in Shanghai]]
[[Category:Films shot in Dubai]]
[[Category:Films shot in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Films shot in London]]
[[Category:Films shot in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Frank Cottrell-Boyce]]
[[Category:Biopunk films]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:United Artists films]]
[[Category:2003 drama films]]
[[Category:Films scored by David Holmes (musician)]]
[[Category:2000s British films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction drama films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic drama films]]