Code Unknown

International star Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, The English Patient) stars as an actress named Anne in this difficult, but stimulating French film that was honored at the Sundance Film Festival. In an extraordinary 10-minute tracking shot at the beginning of the film, Anne's boyfriend's brother Jean, who has fled the family farm and come to Paris, meets Anne, who buys him a croissant and gives him the new door code to the apartment. Enroute to the apartment, Jean drops the wrapper in a female beggar's lap. A black man demands that he apologize. Push turns to shove. The police arrive and the black man is ultimately arrested. Thus begins a series of "incomplete tales of several journeys" as director Michael Haneke cuts back and forth between each character's lives following the incident to see how it has impacted them. Binoche's Anne is the one audiences will latch on to. She will be involved in another harrowing incident with racial overtones, as two Arab men harass her on a subway ("Don't you talk to commoners?" one asks). At another point in the film, it is unclear whether what we are watching is "real" or part of a film. While this "Code" is often hard to crack, discriminating viewers will be up for the challenge. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)[Blu-ray/DVD Review—Nov. 17, 2015—Criterion, 117 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and first on Blu-ray, 2000's Code Unknown features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include an intro by director Michael Haneke (5 min.), an interview with Haneke (29 min.), a 2000 “making-of” featurette (28 min.), interviews with film scholar Roy Grundmann (24 min.) and Haneke (12 min.), trailers, and an essay by critic Nick James. Bottom line: a characteristically disturbing Haneke film makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.]