Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month

Code 46
Michael Winterbottom's cult sci-fi stars Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton as star-crossed lovers in a totalitarian world; set to an intoxicating soundtrack by David Holmes' Free Association.
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Overview
A love story set in Shanghai, the day after tomorrow. William (Tim Robbins) is sent there for 24 hours to investigate a fraud at the Sphinx insurance company. Having taken an empathy virus he is able to read suspects' minds. Maria (Samantha Morton) is an employee of Sphinx where she creates 'papelles', a form of combined insurance cover and passport that offer citizens their only chance to travel outside their designated zones. William's enquiries soon reveal that Maria is the suspect who has been selling fake papelles, but finds himself unable to turn her over to the authorities. Instead, he falls deeply in love with her - a move that will change his life forever...
This sci-fi romance from versatile director Michael Winterbottom has been described as a futurustic Brief Encounter (1945), detailing how love can survive in a harsh totalitarian environment. It showcases the filmmaker's skill in conjuring a credible futuristic world from a modest budget, and its atmospherics are greatly enhanced by an intoxicating soundtrack from David Holmes' Free Association.
Related

High Life High Life
Science Fiction 2019 113 mins Director: Claire Denis
The messiness of sex, the mysteries of birth and the moving spectacle of devoted parenting in the face of impending oblivion create a potent atmosphere in Claire Denis’ English-language debut.

Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies
Drama 1963 91 mins Director: Peter Brook
Peter Brook’s Palme d’Or-nominated adaption of the classic novel by William Golding.

Sky Peals Sky Peals
Science Fiction 2023 91 mins Director: Moin Hussain
A coming-of-age tale about a father-son relationship that might just be out of this world.

The Untamed The Untamed
Horror 2016 98 mins Director: Amat Escalante
Amat Escalante follows Heli with a boundary-pushing, mind-blowing mix of sex, sci-fi and social drama.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire The Day the Earth Caught Fire
Science Fiction 1961 100 mins Director: Val Guest
The BFI’s HD remaster of the British sci-fi classic. A journalist discovers that the Earth has been knocked off its axis and is moving ever closer to the sun. Is the Earth doomed?

Last and First Men Last and First Men
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2020 70 mins Director: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Two billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Tilda Swinton narrates this visually stunning lament for humanity by acclaimed composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, Arrival).

Metropolis Metropolis
Science Fiction 1927 150 mins Silent Director: Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang’s expressionist, dystopian vision is one of the first science fiction feature films, and is arguably the most influential.

High Life High Life
Science Fiction 2019 113 mins Director: Claire Denis
The messiness of sex, the mysteries of birth and the moving spectacle of devoted parenting in the face of impending oblivion create a potent atmosphere in Claire Denis’ English-language debut.

Aniara Aniara
Science Fiction 2018 106 mins Director: Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja
The passengers on an interstellar space-liner are thrown into turmoil when their mission goes off course, in this compassionate and thought-provoking sci-fi drama.

Little Joe Little Joe
Horror 2019 105 mins Director: Jessica Hausner
Jessica Hausner’s cool, witty and unsettling sci-fi starring Emily Beecham and Ben Whishaw.

Street Trash Street Trash
Comedy 1987 101 mins Director: Jim Muro
A deadly liquor rips through a community of vagabonds living in the junkyards of Brooklyn, in this outlandish 80s body horror.

Safe Safe
Drama 1995 119 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Julianne Moore stars as a suburban housewife who suffers from a mysterious illness in Todd Haynes’ inspired blend of horror and existential Americana.

Jesus' Son Jesus' Son
Drama 1999 108 mins Director: Alison Maclean
Billy Crudup stars as a young drifter who gets hooked on heroin in this star-studded story of addiction, recovery and redemption.

Under the Skin Under the Skin
Melodrama 1997 83 mins Director: Carine Adler
Carine Adler’s sexy and dark debut, starring Samantha Morton in her first major feature film role.

The Living Wake The Living Wake
Comedy 2007 92 mins Director: Sol Tyron
Accompanied by his faithful assistant Mills (Jesse Eisenberg), self-proclaimed genius K. Roth Binew (Mike O’Connell) decides to go out in style following a terminal prognosis – staging a living wake.

War Pony War Pony
Drama 2022 115 mins Director: Gina Gammell and Riley Keough
The lives of two Oglala Lakota boys interlock in this coming-of-age drama set against the backdrop of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation.
Chocolat Chocolat
Drama 1988 100 mins Director: Claire Denis
Claire Denis' fully formed debut offers a child’s-eye-view of racial and sexual tension that bubbles with unspoken desires.

Paterson Paterson
Comedy 2016 118 mins Director: Jim Jarmusch
Adam Driver excels in this effortlessly charming tale of a bus driver poet in New Jersey, filmed with typically groovy elan by Jim Jarmusch.

Eat the Night Eat the Night
Thriller 2024 107 mins Director: Caroline Poggi and Johnathan Vinel
Siblings find passion and peril online and in the real world, in this visually electric French drama.

Bound Bound
Gangster 1996 109 mins Director: Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
A seductive neo-noir and cult classic centring on lesbian desire in dangerous circumstances.