Code Unknown [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Michael Haneke Michael Haneke

Overview

German-born filmmaker Michael Haneke continues the bleak, formalist experimentation of his 1994 breakthrough 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance with this similarly fragmented tale of racism, intolerance, and hatred in modern-day Paris. The focus of the narrative is split between three sets of people: the French actress Anne (Juliette Binoche), her husband and in-laws; a Romanian woman, Maria (Luminita Gheorghiu), who struggles to raise money for her family back home; and Amadou (Ona Lu Yenke), a teacher for the deaf who is at odds with his resolute African clan. The catalyst for the stories begins on a streetcorner, where Anne's brother-in-law Jean (Alexandre Hamadi) insults Maria, who is begging for change; incensed, Amadou picks a fight with Jean, resulting in negative repercussions for the triptych of protagonists. Throughout, Haneke punctuates the action with his unique editing and use of sound. After its Cannes debut, Code Inconnu made its North American premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/10/2015
UPC:	0715515161015
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:57:00
Sales rank:	12,701

Special Features

New interview with Haneke Introduction by Haneke from 2001 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 Interview from 2001 in which Haneke discusses the filming of the boulevard sequences New interview with film scholar Roy Grundmann Teasers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Juliette Binoche	Anne
Thierry Neuvic	Georges
Josef Bierbichler	The Farmer
Alexandre Hamidi	Jean
Maïmouna Hélène Diarra	Aminate,Aminate
Ona Lu Yenke	Amadou
Djibril Kouyaté	The Father
Luminita Gheorghiu	Maria
Crenguta Hariton Stoica	Irina
Bob Niculescu	Dragos
Bruno Todeschini	Pierre
Paulus Manker	Perrin
Didier Flamand	The Director
Walid Afkir	The Young Arab
Maurice Benichou	The Old Arab
Carlo Brandt	Henri
Philippe Demarle	Paul
Marc Duret	The Policeman
Arsinee Khanjian	Francine
Florence Loiret	Amadou's Friend
Nathalie Richard	Mathilde
Andree Tainsy	Mrs. Becker
Elisabeth Marceul	Child
Melissande Zeddam	Child
Brandon Croteau	Child,Child
Sonia Chauvelin	Child
Baptiste Gintzburger-Batle	Child
Sarah Agogue Tasse	Child
Jerome Ferreira	Child
Melanie Lhote	Child
Jose Marques	Child
Guessi Diakite-Goumdo	Child
Jean-Yves Chatelais	Child
Laurent Suire	Child
Malick Bowens	Child
Ioan Marian Boris	Nicu
Monica Popa	Nuta
Ada Navrot	Florica
Giba Goncalves	Percussion Teacher
Dominique Douret	David
Tsuya Bridwell	David's Friend
Antoine Mathieu	Restaurant Waiter
Constantin Barbebulescu	Mihai Popa
Domeke Meite	Demba
Aissa Maiga	Girl with Blonde Hair
Marany Pofana	Youssouf's Sister
Costel Cascaval	Man in the Garden
Sandu Mihai Gruia	Group Leader
Daniel Dublet	Uncle
Boris Napes	Father in Cemetery
Isabelle Pietra	Mother in Cemetery
Cristina Ioanidis	Tatiana
Ion Haiduc	Man in Squat
Guillaume Morvilliers	Pierrot
Pascal Loison	Jolly Man

Technical Credits

Michael Haneke

Michael Haneke	Director,Screenwriter
Yvon Crenn	Executive Producer
Pierre Foury	Special Effects
Marin Karmitz	Producer
Daniel Lenoir	Special Effects
Kris Portier de Bellair	Casting
Alain Sarde	Producer
Benoit Squizzato	Special Effects
Jean-Pierre Laforce	Sound/Sound Designer
Guillaume Sciama	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

A humanist screed wrapped in a formalist adventure, Michael Haneke's Code Unknown represents a great leap forward for Austria's best-known contemporary filmmaker. This audacious near-masterpiece finds Haneke again casting an Olympian eye on his fellow man. Where his previous film, Funny Games, was conspicuously devoid of empathy, Code Unknown is decidedly more generous in outlook and tempered in tone. The movie's departure point is a bravura nine-minute tracking shot that links together the main characters on a busy Paris street. From there, the story lines branch off into fragmented bits -- perhaps a visual equivalent for the fractured world Haneke seeks to understand. As can be expected from the media-obsessed Haneke, the movie explores the power of images and the artist's complicity in perpetuating social attitudes. While such self-reflexivity is familiar in Haneke's cinema, what is not is the movie's poignancy. A contemporary global bulletin in its own right, the movie depicts a world afflicted by racism, xenophobia, apathy, miscommunication, and solipsism. Bookended by scenes at a school for deaf children, the movie all but explains its title, a reference to the seemingly lost language of kindness and compassion. "Have you ever made somebody happy?" a character asks at one point. It's a question this fiercely moral movie asks its audience as well.

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