Code 46 (2003) - Some spoilers.

A wonderful film. "Code 46" is a sci-fi movie in the lines of "Farenheit 451" or "1984" directed by english filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. It stars Tim Robbins, as a state inspector who investigates fake permissions, and Samantha Morton, as the main suspect of his investigation. They soon fall in love, but they also discober that they have not only to face common obstacles (Robbins' character is not only married, but also lives in another country), but state restrictions, because although they are not stricktly related, cloning is so widespread that they share some DNA and their union is considered incest under future laws.

While the story itself is nothing new (both "1984" and "THX 1138" come to mind almost inmediately), Winterbottom wisely focuses in the romence between Robbins and Morton. In all senses. The romance itself, the subjective feelings of each character, becomes as well the axis of Winterbottom's camerawork, which abounds in subjective POVs, erratic rythms and moody music. The result, although sometimes uneven paced, is a joy to watch and feel. It feels quite a lot like Soderbergh's remake of "Solaris", although Winterbottom is less manieristic and pedantic in his style. It is a film that seems to have been made more with the senses than with the brain, if you know what I mean.

And the funny thing is that it doesn't feel empty in the ideas department, as I feared. The film presents a ruthless state whose main goal is to make people happy, even if that means controlling every aspect of their lives, destiny included. Violence is absent, and it can be argued that the state's doings are not ill-intentioned not specially harmful, but the individuals are prevented of their most basic freedoms, the freedom to pursuit happiness and the following of their free wills.

The depiction of tis near future is also brilliant. Exagerating the present day differences between first and third world, the migratory movement controls and the dependency to technology, this brave new world is divided between those who enjoy a first class status and live tightly controlled, and those who live in a more free environment, at the expense of having to fight for merely surviving.

Add to this that some of the ideas exposed are nothing short of brilliant, such as the wonderful mixture of languages people speak, the gadgets that look so real (and usable), plus some of the situations that appear now and then, such as Morton's behaviour after being "re-educated", or Robins suffering the same limitations he blindly impossed on others reveal that the writers have done their homework and read both Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick. If only others had bothered to do the same...