Six stories set in different eras yet somehow linked

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2016)

This is a hard film to summarise in a paragraph as it consists of six ostensibly unconnected stories that take place in six different time periods and locations. A lawyer in the south pacific who attempts to help an escaped slave who has stowed away on a ship in the nineteenth century. A young man who has gone to Scotland in the 1930s to help a composer write again and to compose his own work. A reporter in 1970s San Francisco who finds herself in danger when she uncovers a plot by oil companies to stop alternate power sources. A man whose brother has him put in a secure facility in present day Scotland. A cloned slave, known as a fabricant, is taken from where she is kept by a man hoping to overthrow current system and becomes a symbol of that revolution in 2144. Finally in the far future a tribesman Pacific island is haunted by a vision of a demonic character and helps a woman from an advanced civilisation get to the summit of a 'forbidden' mountain. These six stories are told in an overlapping manner; a scene from one then from another; sometimes it is just a moment in one story other times we stay with one story for quite a while.
When I started watching this I thought it might just be long and confusing with the cast playing multiple characters in the various stories; sometimes these characters are of a different race or gender. Thankfully once the stories had got going I was gripped; the way we constantly switch from one story to another meant no story got boring; nor did it create the confusion it might have done. As the stories progress it becomes apparent that there are connections between then sometimes thematic sometimes involving the same characters or the effects of their works and lives. The cast does a great job playing the multiple roles; sometimes I didn't recognise actors under heavy makeup until the credits showed who played whom. The way it is spread over many centuries means at times it is a costume drama, other times in is futuristic sci-fi and others it is post-apocalyptic sci-fi. There are thrilling moments, tragic moments and even some very funny moments. This certainly won't be for everybody but I'd recommend giving it a go; I certainly enjoyed it far more than I expected.