So heavy it almost gets crushed under its own weight

Rating: 3/10 (30 March 2013)

What happened to Tom Tykwer? Remember, this is the guy who 15 years ago directed 'Lola Rennt' ('Run Lola Run'), which became a sort of cult classic because it was a fresh, original and imaginative piece of film making.
Now, Tykwer is one of three directors who made 'Cloud Atlas', which is the complete opposite of everything 'Lola Rennt' stands for. 'Cloud Atlas' is ambitious, pretentious, bloated, and so heavy it almost gets crushed under its own weight. On second thoughts: scrap the word 'almost'.
'Cloud Atlas' consists of six different stories, set in different places and time periods, each played by the same set of actors. They vary form historical drama (a slave trader turning into an abolitionist), political thriller (an investigative reporter uncovering a scandal involving a nuclear power plant), slapstick comedy (an elderly publisher getting locked up in an old people's home), love story (a gay couple in pre-war England), to science fiction (a clone-like creature being freed in 22nd century Seoul).
The stories are shown in short scenes, jumping from one to the other. They are connected, but in a very minimal way. In some cases, so minimal that I didn't discover the connection watching the film, but only afterward, reading the comments on the internet. During the scenes, there are pieces of narration about universal themes like space, time, God, love, etcetera. Even Darwin turns up at one moment.
It is clear that you have to watch this movie several times to really understand it. I don't know if this is a quality. It can also be an indication that the movie makers have tried to do too much, that they have put too many elements into one single film, that they have given the audience so many messages that it is inevitable that, after seeing it for the first time, you are left confused, dazed and frustrated. I think the movie would have been better with only three or four stories instead of six, and with more clear elements of how they are connected.
Much can be said about the meaning of the movie. The central theme of the six stories seems to be the quest for freedom and the fight against oppression. The implied message is that the world doesn't change, and that throughout time we keep on repeating the same behaviour. The movie is open for interpretation; those who like can find plenty of political, religious and even environmental themes in it.
Apart from the gimmick of getting rid of the boundaries of time and space, I didn't find 'Cloud Atlas' particularly remarkable. The six stories in themselves are rather conventional and thin. The acting is adequate - the idea of each actor playing six different roles is challenging but doesn't necessarily lead to superb acting. The cinematography is what you'd expect for a big budget film. In my opinion, this film is special for its audacious scope, but not because it's such a good watching experience.