Search - The Code on DVD

Deserves to be seen for the art if not for the insight it br

Pork Chop | Lisbon, Portugal | 06/27/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"THE CODE (2002, LA MENTALE) has actors speaking their natural

French but whose dialog was dubbed in English. There are also

English subtitles, that consistently differ from the dubbed English.

The target market is obviously that spoken about by the new elected

French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, (former Minister of the

Interior), who won the favor of many over his promises to cope with

the multicultural pressures that France faces today, in large part

centered in the hyper-populated suburbs of Paris.



The movie tells the story of second generation Maghrebs, who

consider blue collar jobs and the 9 to 5 work routine dishonorable,

preferring instead, to be their own bosses, viewing the world as

seen in some regions 800 years ago, carrying out hijackings of 18

wheeler TIR trucks carrying commodities and reselling them, or

looting armored bank vans carrying loads of cash, etc. Thus, actors

Samy Naceri and Samuel Le Bihan play the roles of gangsters, running

their own operations, ranging form narco-trafficking, import to

dealing in the street with their own city blocks in the city to

protection rackets, high end car thefts, etc. This is confirmed

when we hear "It's the dough that makes the man!"



The script puts a lot of effort in underlining the personal lives of

the mobsters, showing a birthday celebration, a woman mulling over

her rocky relationship and pregnancy, coping with infidelity, etc.

In this regards, a night club is the center of ultimate joy when

friends gather, perhaps juvenile as an outlook. While there are many

high-five human moments, party scenes, this movie is ultra-violent,

with a number of gun fire-fights, spontaneous murders, and

vocabulary typical of the underworld.



An ex-con tries to start a new life, stemming from his penal system

experience and affection for a woman of outside his religious faith

(Maometanism) and tribe (gypsy, Maghreb, etc.) This causes tensions

among former partners in crime and by ex-girlfriend, who have a lot

to stand losing in letting the man step outside the clan.



The action scenes are well done, with the balaclavas and machine

guns, packed clips, both indoors and outdoors, showing plenty of

realism, by the well understood implications of the behavior shown,

such as bleakness, violence, egomaniac behavior seen in the gang,

and the overall lack of principles such that, it's a race to the

bottom to see who has less character and principles, when there's a

confrontation, who is the easiest on the trigger.



Some scenes could have been done a lot better, such as the

spontaneous physical love scenes or embraces that come about without

context, that are non-sequitur. The complete lack of law enforcement

is also dumbfounding.



Some bizarre moments are shown, such as a woman pulling a stash of

jewelry from her underpants.



The cultural life is underlined, referencing cuscus, Maometanism for

the deceased at the cemetary, the prayer when confronted with

imminent danger, the ghetto that they belong to, for friends,

companionship and work.



The DVD offers a good quasi-widescreen presentation, with very good

5.1 sound, surprisingly, considering the dubbed English dialog.



The soundtrack is very good and professional, as well, ranging from

acoustic, gypsy-style numbers, to very low-profile music that

doesn't distract from the story."