A cult futuristic sci-fi movie is airing on TV tonight

The film stars an Oscar winner.

The film is set in the year 2077 in a dystopian future where procreation is strictly regulated.

On top of this, travel is also restricted, with strict boundaries existing between those that live "inside" - in technologically advanced high-density cities - and "outside" - in vast desert shanty towns.

The film follows William Geld (Oscar-winner Tim Robbins, The Shawshank Redemption), an investigator sent to Shanghai. This is to expose Maria Gonzáles (Oscar-nominee Samantha Morton, In America), a forger of papers enabling people to travel between the inside and outside zones.

Instead, the pair begin a love affair, which is threatened by the powers that be.

Code 46's slow-burn storytelling won't be for everyone. That said, we'd argue that the movie does have a power that lingers long after the credits roll.

The way Winterbottom and his frequent collaborator Frank Cottrell-Boyce (A Cock and Bull Story) pit Maria and William's passion for each other against a clinical, sterile and impersonal world is very haunting.

Plus, the film is gorgeous to behold. Winterbottom shot Code 46 in several major cities around the world and used elements of each to create the impression of a futuristic super city.

The end result: a soulful sci-fi romance noir that burns like ice.

Code 46 also features amongst its cast in small supporting roles Archie Punjabi (The Good Wife), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Essie Davis (The Babadook), Kristin Scott Thomas (Slow Horses) and Om Puri (East is East).

The movie is airing on TV tonight on BBC Two at 11pm (except in Northern Ireland, where it's airing at 12am).

Code 46 is also available to stream on the BFI Player, Plex and Prime Video.

Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - ITV4 - 9pm

Clint Eastwood stars in one of the best Westerns ever.

National Lampoon's Animal House - Comedy Central - 9pm

The classic ’70s college-set comedy.

Oblivion - Film4 - 9pm

In this solid, stylish post-apocalyptic action sci-fi, Tom Cruise plays a drone repairman stationed on a war-torn, unoccupied Earth who starts to suspect his life is a lie.

The Day of the Jackal - Legend - 9pm

A legendary '70s thriller recently rebooted on TV with Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch.

xXx: The Next Level - Film4 - 11.25pm

Ice Cube replaces Vin Diesel in this poorly received but kind of fun action sequel.

Hannie Caulder - Legend - 11.45pm

A ’70s Western starring Raquel Welch, Robert Culp and Ernest Borgnine that Quentin Tarantino cites as a favourite of his.