You don't have to walk out completely understanding it to truly appreciate it.

Rating: 8/10 (30 October 2012)

I walked into the cinema having pretty much no clue what I was about to see. All I really knew about "Cloud Atlas" was that it was co-directed by what used to be the Wachowski Brothers but is now the Wachowski Siblings (the team responsible for the Matrix trilogy and "Speed Racer" before Larry Wachowski became Lana Wachowski) along with Tom Tykwer ("Perfume: The Story of a Murder"). Oh, and that it was apparently a singular story that spanned centuries with numerous big-name actors playing a multitude of parts in a multitude of eras. And it had a running time of just under three hours.
Ouf.
Alas, with murmuring of Oscar possibilities and the talk of incredible visuals, my cinematic obligation superseded my hesitation. And I have no regrets.
In reality, "Cloud Atlas" is a myriad of interlocked stories unfolding through half a dozen eras spanning from the late 1800s to the distant future through almost seventy characters played by just a dozen actors and extraordinary visual effects that must be seen on the IMAX screen.
Tom Hanks and Halle Berry lead the charge, playing a dozen completely dissimilar characters, some with similar traits, each creating their personas with such pronounced detail, from the selfish, conniving doctor to the almost-worshipped "alien" visitor, accents ranging from British to Queens to "Nell"-like mumbo-jumbo, but never leaving you batting an eye while you think about scratching your head. British heavyweights Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, James D'arcy and Hugh Grant with UK lightweight Ben Wishaw all bring such incredible life to nearly three dozen characters of all ages, sex and sexual proclivity. Susan Sarandon? Always a pleasure.
And then there is relative newcomer Doona Bae who also slips into a half dozen characters, yet all but steals the show as Fabricant Sonmi-451. If there was a first possibility of a Best Supporting Actress nomination, it goes to Bae for playing a non-human who finds humanity within, portrayed through exquisite physical control and expression. The visual execution of the film is one of the most extraordinary to hit the big screen in some time, jumping from London in the 1800s to California in the 70s to a distant-future Seoul and a post-apocalyptic wasteland that bridges the past to the future. And the directors and editor, Alexander Berner, manage to jump from one to the other almost seamlessly, despite the polarizing images of environment and segues of triumph, love, passion, tenderness, disaster and unforgiving violence.
So, all this leads to the question "What is 'Cloud Atlas' about?"
To tell you the truth, I have no idea where to even begin. And if I tried, it could ruin the experience for anyone who chooses to undertake the task. Even Roger Ebert wrote "I gave up any attempt to work out the logical connections between the segments, stories and characters." Indeed, they are connected, but to try to figure out how they truly overlap is another story. This is a film that one needs to see a few times and will still probably not figure it out. But unlike last year's "Tree of Life," which not only made no sense, was suicide-inducingly boring and pointless, the viewer walked away angry that they wasted two hours of their lives on crap-posing-as-art, "Cloud Atlas" will leave you elated, satisfied and hopeful, even if you walk on not quite being able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. It all culminates into an extremely emotional crescendo regardless of whether you find yourself lost or not.
What I can say is that it is about Truth. And what one will do to cover Truth, discover Truth, run from the Truth, embrace the Truth, repent from the Truth and how heroes are willing to die to expose the Truth.
And love. Love between a man and a woman, love between two men, love between parent and child, love between human and non-human. That love is love and it should never, ever be considered "forbidden."
And that, my friends, is the Truth.