Review

Time Code, Mike Figgis's thinly disguised Hollywood satire, may be narratively defunct but one has to admire its visual chutzpah. "Montage has created a false reality," says experimental filmmaker Ana Pauls (Mia Maestro). She spews out her knowledge of collage, heralding the possibilities of digital video while a boardroom of Hollywood executives look at her as if she were, well, Mike Figgis. This 90-minute experimental film was shot simultaneously with four digital cameras, and Figgis created four distinct views of the same reality, each occupying one corner of the four-split viewing area. Though it takes some getting used to, the narrative is pretty easy to follow. During any given moment, Figgis pulls the sound down on three of his four fragments, focusing our attention on the most important one. This is not to say that the other three fragments are superfluous. In a way, this is the point of Time Code. By giving us as much information possible, Figgis allows the spectator to determine what is the most important reality. In doing so, Figgis seemingly posits a battle between action and subtext. It's not unlike watching any four storylines from Short Cuts at the same time. However lightweight the actual narrative may be, Time Code grooves like no other film out there right now.