Cloud Atlas, 2012Director: Andy Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
Cast: Tom Hanks, Hale Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess
Stage: Home theatre
Cloud Atlas in short: Everything is connected: an 1849 diary of an ocean voyage across the Pacific; letters from a composer to his friend; a thriller about a murder at a nuclear power plant; a farce about a publisher in a nursing home; a rebellious clone in futuristic Korea; and the tale of a tribe living in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, far in the future.
Preps: This is a hot cake at our theatres. A lot of my colleagues already saw this and I was anxious to see it as well. I heard many contradicting stories, but here's what I found out. I didn't even prepare the way I normally do - which means I didn't even see the trailer nor knew what the movie was about.
Reality: Cloud Atlas is one of those movies you either enjoy or don't at all. Binary, I need to say. So I don't suppose there is an alternative option to that. Either you believe souls can be recaptured and repositioned in another shape/body, or you don't. Or least you need to be open to this suggestion.
It took me a while to figure out what is going on in this piece, as I didn't do my homework. So for some time I looked puzzled and didn't know what to do with all of the scenes and all of the roles I saw Tom, Hale, and other protagonists, appear. But once I discovered what it meant and what the true story is saying, I was amazed and regret not being able to figure out sooner. One of better reasons why I need to see it again.
Now, this piece will tell you why you end up in a better place, if you do good. And why you will be even a larger villain if you do bad in your life. I read a book at some point, The fate of souls, by Newton M, which deals with this - soul captivity or soul learning after you end up a life. If you did a good job and learned what you were supposed to learn, you will progress and you will meet up with souls of your group in your next life. If you don't do well, you have another chance, but you don't progress. You go a few steps back and try again.
This movie is about experiencing each other in different time, different circle, different role. One time you are a parent, next time a spouse. It is amazing how quick the director switches from one time to another, from one scene to another. It doesn't let you down in terms of thinking about all the scenes, you really need to have full concentration when watching this piece. Because if you don't, you will be lost and will need extra time to catch up or make it up for that scene.
The real question, posed in this, would be, is it believable to one, that didn't believe before? Will this person now try at least to be open to the idea of the soul mixing, fate, etc? Or will these groups of people just nod their heads and say to their friends that they just had seen a nice fairy tale.
The music in this piece is superb, also the scenery and the costumography. The story in my opinion is a very good one, and you can find a lot of literature, supporting it. It will make you think about life and the meaning of it. It will make you at least consider the fact that it isn't such a tragedy dying, because you might wake up as a better, upgraded person in a fine role, the next time you wake up.
It would be interesting to capture the lives of these people and characters from their childhood. The movie throws you in the middle of their existing lives and you need to figure out what they mean, who they have around from the previous round. Exciting to explore and very interesting to see.
Definitely one of the better pieces lately and worth your time. The three hours will pass by like one and a half. Not one time, did I think about time. Yet time is not important in this piece. The things you do in life, are. They will echo in eternity.
My personal rating: 8,0 (an extremely interesting piece, worth the nominations it has, and worth the time. Maybe one of the more extraordinary mixtures of different lifestyles and destinies you will ever see on screen)
Cloud Atlas on IMDB
