A great achievement in filmmaking

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2012)

In all the years I've loved and enjoyed movies, one thing that has become consistent with the current trend of filmmaking is the lack of passion. We see tons of movies all the time that simply wish to make money and bore us with their product tie-ins in tow. But Cloud Atlas, thankfully, bucks that trend.
It is only fitting that a wonderful group of talented individuals congregated to make this film, beginning with the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer. Despite their two different viewpoints of filmmaking, combined to make a consistently beautiful piece of film that flows as perfectly as time itself. Never once did this film feel like a three-hour epic, much in the same way one can watch Magnolia and never feel like your time has been intruded upon. While the whole idea of connectivity beckons like any edict from a far eastern religion, it is done so in a way that allows us to see the obvious connections without noticing the lesser ones (staying for the credits certainly helped with that, though I wished they hadn't revealed those connections). Some might think the $100 million price tag is a bit much for a rather dangerous "art" film, I think the crew managed it quite well considering so many big movies need $150+ just to pay for the sound and visual effects. It comes as no surprise to me that X Filme was the primary production company, for the European filmmaking mindset (which isn't totally concerned with money) was far more suited for this production. I'm sure many will call it a failure due to the many years it will take to recoup the money, but sometimes, art needs to appreciate in order to make its money.
Cloud Atlas wasn't perfect, but the problems were purely nominal. I'm talking about the make-up, which was a no win situation from the beginning. You just can't make someone Caucasian look like a real Asian, and vice versa. I don't know, perhaps it would have been better to not change their appearance at all, possibly adding another layer of connectivity that is only obvious to the audience, a bit of dramatic irony so to speak. Either way, I was more than happy with the end product.