Nietzsche in the Clouds

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2020)

The story is based on the premise of eternal recurrence (popularised by Nietzsche), whereby time is infinite but the events within it are finite, and as such these events repeat themselves, mutadis mutandis. Individuals find themselves within in these repeating events, albeit undertaking different roles and offer different dynamics.
Within Cloud Atlas we find a series of small stories where each different protagonist has to overcome obstacles that enables history to move forward. Whilst each event may have the same characters involved, each story has them playing different roles within the story. Their different reflections enable a 'collective consciousness' to evolve in order for history to move forward.
Each story is fragmented and interwoven with each other, leading to a progression and humanisation of time. We have episodes that involve slave ownership, industrial corruption, revolution in a techno-tolitarian state, and a hilarious escape from a nursing home. And we have an interconnectedness, either directly or indirectly, through each characters on their influence on history.
That said, was it a good movie? It's a good movie, although in my opinion not a great movie. The motif is story driven rather than character driven, so you can't expect outstanding displays of acting. Although having said that, they were good solid performances, particularly from Hanks (However, his attempt at a english accent was Dick van Dyke-ish) The major problem is that the film is a victim of it's own premise, in that if events repeat themselves then there can be no climax, no telos. To this extent the film felt flat. I never got that 'Oomph' feeling at the end of the film. I felt I was being spoon fed a philosophical idea, and the story line(s) and acting were somehow subordinate to this.
And isn't this latter reason why we want to watch movies?
Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable movie, and I would certainly recommend it.