#780: HANEKE, Michael: Code Unknown (2000)

HANEKE, Michael (France)

Code Unknown [2000]

Spine #780
Blu-ray

One of the world's most influential and provocative filmmakers, the Oscar-winning Austrian director Michael Haneke diagnoses the social maladies of contemporary Europe with devastating precision and artistry. His drama Code Unknown, the first of his many films made in France, may be his most inspired work. Composed almost entirely of brilliantly shot, single-take vignettes focusing on characters connected to one seemingly minor incident on a Paris street, Haneke's film — with an outstanding international cast headlined by Juliette Binoche — is a revelatory examination of racial inequality and the failure of communication in an increasingly diverse modern landscape.

117 minutes
Color

5.1 Surround

in French

1:85:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2015

Director/Writer

Michael Haneke was 58 when he wrote and directed Code Unknown.

Haneke is an Austrian filmmaker who has made films in German, English and French.

In 2001, he won the Grand Prix at Cannes for The Piano Teacher (2001) {Spine #894).

Other films by Haneke in the Collection:

#1163a: The Seventh Continent (1989)
#1163b: Benny's Video (1992)
#1163c: 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994)
#975: Funny Games (1997)
#894: The Piano Teacher (2001)

The Film

There is a supreme confidence in Haneke’s filmmaking which shows up on the screen. Code Unknown has such an interesting cinematic form; is shot in very long takes — including the important “boulevard” scene, which lasts about nine minutes. In this scene, the seeds of all the different stories are planted, and in 42 separate scenes — all separated by FTBs — we are introduced to various other characters related to those we see in this opening scene. Haneke subtitled the film “Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys.”

Thus, Anne (Juliette Binoche) and George (Thierry Neuvic) — two character names which Haneke uses frequently — an actress and a war photographer, respectively — are only two of many souls in this magnificent celluloid (or digital) tableau; we meet most of them in that initial scene: Jean (Alexandre Hamidi), George’s brother, Amadou (Ona Lu Yenke), and Maria (Luminita Gheorghiu).

Haneke stitches together the details of these lives onto a tapestry of brilliant scene-making. Like the best, he doesn’t tell you everything — you have to figure stuff out by yourself. He makes you work!

Film Rating (0-60):

56

The Extras

The Booklet

12-page wraparound with an essay by critic Nick James

Excellent informative essay. 

Commentary

None

Video interview 1

with Haneke

Introduction

by Haneke from 2001

Documentary

Filming Haneke, a 2000 making-of documentary featuring interviews with Haneke, actor Juliette Binoche, and producer Marin Karmitz, as well as on-set footage of cast and crew

Video interview 2

From 2001 in which Haneke discusses the filming of the boulevard sequences

Video interview 3

New interview with film scholar Roy Grundmann

Teasers

Extras Rating (0-40):

34

56 + 34 =

90

By Director

By Spine #