Code 46

"How do you solve a crime when the last thing you want to know is the truth?"

2003 1h 33m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 416

DramaScience FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator William Gold arrives in Shanghai to investigate a forgery ring for "papelles", futuristic passports that record people's identities and genetics. Gold falls for Maria Gonzalez, the woman in charge of the forgeries. After a passionate affair, Gold returns home, having named a coworker as the culprit. But when one of Gonzalez's customers is found dead, Gold is sent back to Shanghai to complete the investigation.

“How do you solve a crime when the last thing you want to know is the truth?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Tim Robbins
William Geld
Samantha Morton
Maria Gonzales
Nabil Elouahabi
Vendor
Om Puri
Bahkland
Emil Marwa
Mohan
Nina Fog
Wole
Bruno Lastra
Bikku
Togo Igawa
Driver

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Writers: Frank Cottrell Boyce
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Winterbottom, shot by Alwin H. Küchler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stephen Hilton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Christelis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton and Nabil Elouahabi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "How do you solve a crime when the last thing you want to know is the truth?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0345061 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Winterbottom directs. Alwin H. Küchler behind the camera. Stephen Hilton scores. Peter Christelis cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 23 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Directed by Michael Winterbottom, shot by Alwin H. Küchler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Stephen Hilton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter Christelis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton and Nabil Elouahabi carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "How do you solve a crime when the last thing you want to know is the truth?".
8IMDB entry: tt0345061 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Alwin H. Küchler
Original score: Stephen Hilton
Editing: Peter Christelis
Production design: Mark Tildesley
Costume design: Natalie Ward
Makeup / hair: Konnie Daniel
Sound: Tim Alban
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,500,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Code 46 (2003)

Also by

Michael Winterbottom

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-08-31
★ 6/10
I struggle with some of these futuristic dystopian dramas simply because I can never imagine how humanity could ever find itself in the situation where life could really be like this. This one adds an additional, if entirely accidental, Oedipean element to the plot. “Geld” (Tim Robbins) is an investigator who tracks down folks who peddle in fake travel documents. Believe it or not, this is big business in a world where travel is tightly regulated by the governmental “Sphinx”. His latest trip takes him to Shanghai where he encounters “Maria” (Samantha Morton) whom he quickly deduces is behind the forgeries, but he’s too smitten to do anything about it as he embarks on twenty-four hours of activities he might not like to recount to his wife at home. Anyway, back home he goes only for his boss to enquire as to why he seemed to have failed in his mission and to promptly send him back. Was this his plan all along - to be sent back? Well when he tries to find “Maria” again, he discovers that she has undergone memory erasing treatment following her alleged breaching of “Code 46”. He also discovers that she is not quite the random person he had initially supposed, and that the genetics of two into one don’t really go! Essentially this comes across as a curious take on a love story, with Robbins confidently delivering a persona that still yearns for a degree of humanity in the face of an increasingly sterile and prescribed human existence. Morton also delivers well, exuding a certain vulnerability as her character sits on the wrong side of an arbitrarily defined society that discriminates indiscriminately. The plot tries to reconcile some more scientific concepts alongside the emotionally conflicted ones, but that’s where I found it’s wheels came off. It hasn’t quite the convictions to deliver without reaching an uncomfortable compromise that I felt rather let the whole thing down, and boy can it take it’s time as it often feels way longer than ninety minutes. There are moments of chemistry between the pair, and I did like the premise but the over-written and ponderous execution just left me disappointed, sorry.

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