Code 46

In der nahen Endzeitzukunft wohnen die besser gestellten Bürger in bewachten und befestigten Städten, Inseln der Zivilisation in wüstem Brachland, regiert und gelenkt unter der weisen Ägide einer Regierung namens "Sphinx". Wer von Stadt zu Stadt reisen will, braucht eine Art befristeten Reisepass namens "Papelles". Von denen sind in letzter Zeit in Shanghai Fälschungen aufgetaucht, weshalb Ermittler William (Tim Robbins) aus Seattle herbei reist. Dank seiner Fähigkeit zum Gedankenlesen ist die Schöpferin der falschen Papiere schnell festgestellt, allein verhaften mag sie der plötzlich schwer verliebte William nicht. Michael Winterbottom ("Welcome to Sarajevo") und sein Hausautor Frank Cottrell Boyce beschreiten mit diesem Science-Fiction-Thriller im Stile des Film Noir zur Abwechslung einmal Genrepfade.

Code 46 is a love story set in a Brave New World-type near-future where cities are heavily controlled and only accessible through checkpoints. People cannot travel unless they have "papeles" (papers in Spanish; words and sentences in many languages, especially Spanish, French and Chinese are mixed with English in this new world), a special travel permit issued by the totalitarian government, the "Sphinx". Outside these cities, the desert has taken over and shanty towns are jammed with non-citizens - people without IDs forced to live primitive lives. William is a family man who works as a government investigator. When he is sent to Shanghai to solve a case of fake IDs, he meets a woman named Maria. Although he realizes she is behind the forgeries, he cannot help but fall completely in love with her. He hides her crime and they have a wild, passionate affair that can only last as long as his visa: 24 hours. Back home, William is obsessed with the memory of Maria. When the original ...