"Everything Is Connected"

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2017)

In general films released today follow a broad structure of three acts, with the setup, the obstacle and the resolution. There are some films however that bend and manipulate this structure and try and create something more fluid. Then there are films that are pure and utter madness. A chaos of ideas and themes that distinctly do not follow the classical structure. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is a sprawling epic, historical, science fiction film that covers six distinct time periods from early settlers in the United States to a post-apocalyptic savage land after the 'fall of humanity' and it's quite unlike almost any other film around.
To say that Cloud Atlas gets confusing would be an understatement. Directors Tom Tykwer, Lana and Andy Wachowski have suggested that artistic expression is meant to be confusing and boundary-pushing and they've certainly put their money where their mouths are here. The narrative sweeps along tying characters and their actors together by shared roles and themes, investigating fate, history, love and progression.
The film itself was never destined to be popular. When David Mitchell published a novel featuring six different stories set in six different time periods, nested one inside the other like Russian dolls, Hollywood said an adaptation was impossible. When the Wachowski Siblings bought the rights to the book, studios were still doubtful. Even after the film had been financed, investors backed out left and right. Nobody but the filmmakers seemed to believe that audiences could handle a movie this big.
Although, despite the haste, I adore Cloud Atlas. It's huge, smart, ambitious, profound—everything a Hollywood film ought to be. And I'm not alone in saying so. The movie received a ten-minute standing ovation at its premiere at most Film Festivals—a sign that the filmmakers had created something very special. Only later did the negative buzz begin. But those movie-goers who enjoyed Cloud Atlas didn't just like it—they loved it, passionately. Some have even called this film a masterpiece. So who's right?