A Wondrous Journey to the Past, Present, and Future

"Cloud Atlas"

For those who thought that The Matrix films were weird and bizarre, let me tell you that after watching Cloud Atlas, you ain't seen nothin' yet.  Cloud Atlas is the latest project from three directors whose films over the past decade or so have brought something new to the art form of film.  The Wachowski's (The Matrix Trilogy) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) come together for a film that can only be described as a beautiful and glorious mess of a picture.  Those were my expectations after seeing the trailers for this film.  They gave the impression of a feature that had something to say but not in a stuffy, pretentious, artsy fartsy kind of way.  At the least, Cloud Atlas was a film that wanted to make its audience think as well as entertain.  Cloud Atlas met and exceeded my expectations, but even with that being said, I'm still trying to figure out what the heck I just watched.

I don't really know how to describe the plot to you.  Yeah, it's one of those movies.  Any sort of description is not going to do this film justice.  There are six stories to Cloud Atlas.  Each story is set in a different time period and location.  Within each time period and location are the same group of actors who play either major or minor roles.  Some of these roles are even gender swapped giving this film a Shakespearean quality to it.  The six time periods which the film is constantly cutting back and forth between are the late 1840's primarily aboard a ship at sea, early 1930's Scotland, mid 1970's San Francisco, 2012 London, 2144 Neo Seoul, Korea, and sometime in the distant future on an ocean island on a post-apocalyptic Earth.

There is a certain rhythm and reason to how everything is put together which the directors don't exactly spell out for us.  Some things are left up to our own interpretations which is fine by me.  What I was able to get out of this film was that for every action there is a reaction.  What we do in the past affects the future.  We are all connected in one way another.  These ideas and concepts may seem vague, ambiguous, or just flat out clichéd but really I'm only scratching the surface.  I think the less you know about Cloud Atlas the better.  Just dive in head first; you'll either sink or swim.

Given that there are six stories going on at the same time with lots of characters in a feature that spans nearly three hours length, don’t let those be deterrents.  The fact that Cloud Atlas is nothing but 172 minutes of pure parallel action might be this films greatest strength.  Tykwer and the Wachowski's know how to keep our attention.  Each story does have a beginning, middle, and end.  I was quite pleased to see that the screenplay did not decide to devote thirty minutes to each story before moving on to the next time period.  Something is always going on as we are perpetually moving forward toward a sensational conclusion.  None of the stories are perfect and some are more interesting than others.  Also there are characters that you want to spend more time with than others as well.  However, everything that is being presented to us has a reason and purpose which we come realize as we venture deeper and deeper into the complexities of this film.  Slow and boring are words that cannot be used when interpreting and defining this film because they never once entered my mind.

Cloud Atlas is one those films that begs to be viewed multiple times and I mean that in the best way possible and not as a put down.  I think each future viewing of this picture will gain me further appreciation for it.  Greater awareness, admiration, and analysis will go to the film’s characters, plot, and aesthetics.  Tykwer and the Wachowski's have put together a piece of cinema that can truly be called art.  Their distinct and uncompromising vision is perhaps the only reason why this film could be brought to the big screen.  I envy actors Tom Hanks, Halle Barry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy, Hugh Grant, and Susan Sarandon for being part of something extraordinary.  It's rare for a film to come along that challenges its audience to absorb and experience things in a completely different and imaginative way. This is a piece of cinema we have never seen before and probably won't see again.  Cloud Atlas is a real gem of a film that requires polishing over and over again not because it has become tarnished but so it can reveal additional intricacies which are embedded within its grand and magnificent reflective surface.