Rent Code Unknown (2000)

Oblique - Code Unknown review by sb

FILM & REVIEW Aka Code Unknown Hanake’s detached study of life in Paris at the turn of the Millennium. We meet Anne (Binoche) an actress whose boyfriend George is a war photographer currently in Kosovo. She encounters Jean , George’s younger brother who has left their Father a solemn taciturn Farmer. Anne buys him lunch and he throws the empty wrapper at a bag lady Maria who is begging. A passing African Amadou berates him for his contempt and a fight breaks out and the Police are called. The rest of the film follows the seperate lives these characters lead - Maria has no papers and gets deported back to Romania , Anne gets reunited with George although things are a little testy and Amadou spends time with his family trying to adapt to life in Paris. There is no overarching narrative - some scenes follow on while others are complete stand alone with each scene made up of a single continuous long take with a fade to signify the next piece. Some of the scenes are Anne at work and it’s only at the end does it becomes apparent that they are scenes from the film she is working on…so you are never sure where you stand. There is no conclusion and although it could be quite a frustrating watch each seperate piece becomes part of the overall mosaic as the characters lives continue on their paths….4/5