Epic

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2012)

There is some cool science fiction, action and adventure in this movie. The stories told are interesting and beautiful. Even if you don't care about the movie's message, I think you could also just go and enjoy it for the entertainment value.
But this is actually an epic movie, a movie with a message, an intelligent movie with profound themes. The main point is that everything is an interconnected rich tapestry, a truth that has profound implications relating to human dignity, liberty, art, spirituality, and so on.
The movie gives us this message not just in the content, but in its form, technique and even its acting. The movie is composed of six individual stories set in different times and different places. They are completely different stories and different genres.
Each story itself is a complex mini-movie about 30 minutes long. Most of them are set in beautiful locations. Each story can stand independently, having its own characters, plot and finale and depending heavily on its particular genre, but still dealing with the primary themes. The various stories are not subtle: each has clear heroes and villains. This is a world of good guys and bad guys.
The movie weaves these stories together, showing us occasionally the ways that they are interrelated. Sometimes the interrelationship is obvious and forced: the director cuts from one scene to the next to make that point. Sometimes the interrelationship is not obvious or glaring, but subtle and mysterious. The movie goer is invited to figure it out.
The characters and actors are also interconnected, in the sense that each actor plays a handful of roles. This was so well done that I was shocked when I checked out the cast on IMDb after I got home. I could tell that some actors were playing double roles, but I missed three quarters of it.
The actors play different sides (from hero to villain, and vice versa), different genders and even different races. Some of it was obvious and I can see why some might think it inept. On the other hand, I accepted the movie's message that the distinction between races and genders is unimportant.
Philosophical statements on the theme of interconnection and other similar themes are made throughout the movie. These statements often seemed rather profound, but were delivered in a context that made it difficult to absorb in just a few seconds. I need to see this movie again to focus on that. (Or of course I could read the book.) It was a little frustrating not being able to follow it all closely. The movie I saw was (thankfully) subtitled in Dutch, so I was able to follow most of the dialogue.
The start of the movie is confusing. It takes a few minutes to understand the structure and the fact that the director wants you to pay attention. It soon fell into place though. There were also a few times when I felt I was being lurched from one story to the next.
The didacticism and philosophising of this movie had a downside. Yes, the stories are entertaining, but it's quite clear that grand truths are being preached to the movie goer.
But that's what epics do. I'd go see this one.