Code 46

Code 46 is a 2003 British film by Michael Winterbottom, starring Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton.

In the near future, William Geld, an insurance fraud investigator, receives orders to unmask a forger of "papelles" (visas) operating in Shanghai. However, his life takes a turn for the unexpected when he falls in love with the perpetrator, Maria Gonzalez.


 * Artistic Licence Geography: There are no deserts outside of Shanghai. This was a deliberate choice by the filmmakers to show the devastation wrought by global warming.
 * Ascetic Aesthetic: The interior of Sphinx's offices are quite creepy.
 * Big Brother Is Watching: Played with. There are very few security cameras in this world.
 * China Takes Over the World: The film is mostly set in Shanghai. Dialogue involving the casual use of Mandarin slang heavily implies that China's become a strong economic and cultural influence.
 * Crap Saccharine World:
 * Shanghai and the other cities.
 * Still better than living on the outside...
 * Truth in Television: Just check out what the page on Real Life has to say about this.
 * Dystopia: Inside the cities, ultra-capitalist and authoritarian governments have absolute control, . Meanwhile, the outside world is a desert populated by the poor and homeless.
 * The Empath: William takes pills which give him an "empathy virus", allowing him to probe the emotions of the people he investigates.
 * Fake Nationality: Maria Gonzalez is played by Samantha Morton, an English actress. This was probably a deliberate choice by the filmmakers, to show how racially diverse the future has become.
 * Fan Service: A gratuitous, ten-second shot of Samantha Morton's crotch.
 * Fate Worse Than Death: "The people outside don't live. They just exist."
 * Gentle Giant: William. (Tim Robbins is much taller than Samantha Morton)
 * Girl of My Dreams: Inverted. Maria always has the same dream on her birthday, of finding her true love, William.
 * Hope Spot: For a moment, the couple seem close to becoming Doomed Moral Victors. Like in 1984, they fail.
 * I Choose to Stay: William decides to escape into the desert with Maria.
 * Kuudere: Maria.
 * Light Is Not Good: Due to global warming, city-dwellers mostly walk around at night.
 * Mind Control:
 * Mega Corp: Sphinx. It's suggested that companies have more power than governments in this future.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers: William and Maria.
 * Surprise Incest: William and Maria, again, due to artificial insemination and cloning..
 * Unperson: What people become when they're exiled from the cities.