Germany/US) Directed by Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. Starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent. Continuing.
Sure it’s a little flawed and all over the place, but this ambitious epic is, after all, based on the best-selling, rather complex David Mitchell book of the same name. Just how do you tell a tale about the journey of the human soul which whizzes from the 1800s in the South Pacific Ocean to 2144 in a post-apocalyptic future in extra quick time without lulling the audience to sleep? Well, you keep them entertained and thinking—which is what directors Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer manage to do by mixing serious drama, action, thriller, sci-fi, comedy and romance into a consistently stirring work of cinema.
In 1849, Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) travels the Pacific Ocean, falls ill, is conned by a man posing as a doctor and eventually saved by a slave. In 1936, Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) struggles to create a classical masterpiece called “The Cloud Atlas Sextet” while struggling with an inept mentor. In 1973, journalist Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) is pursued by a killer intent on stopping her from exposing a bigger conspiracy. In 2012, Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) is tricked by his own brother into being trapped in a nursing home. In 2144, Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae), also a prophet (except she doesn’t know it yet), wants to break free from a life of servitude. Finally, in a post-apocalyptic world, Zachary (Tom Hanks) must escape cannibals to survive.
Ignore the mangled plot and concentrate on the film’s main theme of interconnectivity and karma, and you’ll understand why Cloud Atlas plays out the way it does. All the actors take on multiple roles (mainly in supporting roles or cameos) to bring out the film’s theme of a soul’s rebirth. Patience will be key throughout viewing: The narrative may be a tad confusing and at times it feels like several different films are crashing on top of one another, but the overall proceedings are never short of pulsating—thanks to the filmmakers’ combined spiffy editing styles, groundbreaking special effects and a wonderful music score. Not quite the arthouse fare that we thought it would be, this is still one heck of a movie that is as entertaining as it is serious and complex.
