movie: Cloud Atlas

Every action and inaction carries consequences.  Everything is interconnected.  I've been saying these things for a very long time, and now a movie presents the argument so very nicely.

What an interesting movie. The audience laughed, applauded, cringed, and wept. Rarely does a movie succeed at evoking so many different emotions. "Cloud Atlas" is a mystery-action-scifi-political-romance-thriller. Rarely does a movie succeed at being so many kinds of films at the same time. Not since "Fifth Element" in 1997 have I seen it happen.  Minnesota audiences are not generally known for being so interactive with a film, but I walked to the Heights theater last night and enjoyed this movie along with the crowd.  I didn't even notice that it was 3 hours long.

When you see the film, be sure to wait long enough through the credits to see the list of actors. You'll be surprised. The makeup and acting are so good that you didn't even recognize some of the characters you just saw. They cross lines of race, gender, and age.  Hugo Weaving does a great job as the many kinds of villains. Halle Berry finally gets a chance to shine among her many characters. (She was sadly overlooked in the X-Men movies as merely a supporting character.) Tom Hanks, Doona Bae, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Xun Zhou, Jim Broadbent, and many new faces show their talents. Take a look at the IMDB actor list, and notice how many different characters each person played. That feature alone is an accomplishment for this film.

Frankly, the familiarity of the actors was a necessary thread to pull together the centuries of different storylines. One of the characters (a gay character, actually) lives long enough to cross two stories.  I couldn't remember any of the names involved; there were simply too many of them.  There were times that I wished an English subtitle came with the many accents and occasionally too-soft audio track. Eventually, though, the trend in the storylines becomes clear.

This story teaches about love, hope, bravery, and their inspiration to oppose power.  It teaches the inevitability of both sides of that coin across human history.  The movie (and the book which I may now have to read) contains a great many memorable quotes, but I'll leave them unstated here for you to discover on your own.  Well, except for this one since it addresses the fabric of the story, its core lesson, and the promotional poster image:

"What is any ocean but a multitude of drops?"

Considering the theme of the movie, I can't help thinking that the timing of this movie's release is intentional.  I wish Minnesotans could all see this film before the election.  I think it very effectively presents the core of the argument in the marriage equality debate.  It also has ramifications for many other plutocratic initiatives on the ballot across the country.

"Cloud Atlas" is a very interesting movie.  I recommend watching it.  The directors, actors, and crew deserve your dollars for this talented work.