An incredibly great movie, based on an amazing book.

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2013)

Review originally posted on InspirationRation.com - In a rather fortuitous string of events, I finished reading the novel 'Cloud Atlas' (by David Mitchell) in the lobby of the cinema, a mere 5 minutes before seeing the movie 'Cloud Atlas' in a sneak preview, a whole week before its release date. This put me in a wonderful position to reflect upon the book and the movie simultaneously. And I can tell you right now, both are incredible pieces of storytelling.
The Cloud Atlas novel is very unique. At first glance it seems to be a collection of six separate short-stories. The first chapter consists of pages out of the diary of Adam Ewing, a notary from San Francisco. It is the nineteenth century, and Mr. Ewing is sailing the South Pacific on a ship called the 'Prophetess'. After reading about his adventures for about 40 pages, the narrative abruptly stops mid-sentence, and the next chapter begins. Here, we are reading letters that one Robert Frobisher sends to a friend. Frobisher is an aspiring musician who has escaped creditors by finding refuge in Belgium and is working as a musical aide in the 1930's. The next chapter follows Luisa Rey as she uncovers a conspiracy surrounding a nuclear power plant in the 1970s. Skip to 2012, London, where Timothy Cavendish, a publisher, finds himself in a ghastly ordeal. Next we jump to the year 2144, a dystopian future reminiscent of Aldous Huxley's classic 'Brave New World'. A fabricant named Somni~451 is recording her recollections for the oppressive state's archives, before being executed. Lastly we listen to the tale of Zachry, a simple goat-herder living on one of the smaller islands of what was once known as Hawaii. At this point civilisation has collapsed, to such a degree that even the year is no longer known.
Each of these stories, except for Zachry's, has been interrupted halfway through. Now each story collapses back into the previous, rolling back the narrative in opposite order. We learn what happens to Sonmi~451, and we learn how things end for Timothy Cavendish, Luisa, Frobisher and lastly Adam Ewing.
All along this journey we see call-backs and foreshadowing of stories that came before, or are yet to come. The reader experiences an ever increasing sense that things are connected in more ways than one. Similarities to the characters in each of the stories are revealed. Similarities to their faults, their plights, and their actions. An overarching theme is revealed bit by bit, and before you reach the final page you know that this are not six random short-stories, they are one amazing journey, which transcends time, transcends space, and transcends lives.
"Souls cross ages like clouds cross skies" – David Mitchell
Try translating that to a movie
Enter the Wachowski siblings, together with Tom Twyker. They take on the challenge, and bring us 'Cloud Atlas', the movie. Immediately there is a major difference from the book. The stories don't start out chronological, but seem to switch around every other scene, in seemingly random order. I start out confused Why would they do this? It makes the whole experience rather confusing for someone not familiar with the book. But soon the realization hits, that not the individual stories are show here, but rather the overarching storyline, the themes that bind all these adventures together. Scenes follow each other in the most logical order, running parallel to showcase their similarities. This creates a whole new experience. The movie starts out as this cacophony of mismatched stories, characters and scenes, then slowly but surely blends into a crescendo of epic proportions. Much like the titular 'Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra' (OST).
"Lifetime's music, arriving all at once. Boundaries between noise and sound are conventions, I see now. All boundaries are conventions, national ones too. One may transcend any convention, if only one can first conceive of doing so." – David Mitchell (p. 479)
This is my favorite quote from the book, and, to my great pleasure, is used ad verbatim in the movie.
Cloud Atlas is a rare movie that is both viscerally and intellectually engaging. There are awesome action sequences here, but this is no brainless action-flick. I fear Cloud Atlas will not stay in cinemas long, as it is too complex for the average movie-goer. My gauging of the audience with which I saw Cloud Atlas was infuriating. Some of them left after a mere 15 minutes. Some walked off 1,5 hours or more into the movie. I heard after the movie was over, that so many people still did not see any correlations between the six stories, and I was saddened by their close-mindedness. It is not that it is incredibly difficult to comprehend; it is just that the average movie-goer wants to be entertained without having to think too much. That certainly does not work with Cloud Atlas.
Please go see this movie, and prove to the entire movie-making business that there still is a market for movies such as this. Movies with more substance than "Expendables 3". I will certainly do my part by going to see this movie a second time. I am sure I missed so much the first time around.
A multitude of tiny details within the film enriched the experience of the story. I loved these little nods to the connectedness of everything. The way Luisa Rey's apartment number was 451 (as in Somni~451), or the way the violinist in the Nea So Corpos' slum played Frobisher's Cloud Atlas Sextet. And the way the waistcoat-button from Adam Ewing, is used as an ornamental feature on the necklace that Zachry wears. It is small things like this that I want to explore on a more thorough viewing of Cloud Atlas.
I can not stress enough how incredibly great this movie truly is. Go see it now! - Review originally posted on InspirationRation.com