Cloud Atlas

This 2012 movie masterfully teases all those who know that time is just a human concept and everything is happening simultaneously. The big trick would be to figure out how to sort it all in our human minds residing in our physical bodies. The creators of this marvelous almost 3 hours long contemplation tried to help us to understand that. As my wife said the actresses and actors probably loved it, because some of them portrayed up to five different characters in different time periods, situation and environments. The creators could do a better job helping a viewer to sort it all out, it was at times quite confusing, but still pretty good. It seemed to me that later produced movie Everything Everywhere All at Once with a similar premise (or promise) was better organized, but my wife thought otherwise. My father has been often telling me when I was a child about old Romans saying that there was never anything new under the Sun. It might still apply in our current Roman-like empire. This movie contemplates our never-changing ways throughout human history, especially our ability to be unnecessarily combative, deceiving and destructive. They portray it in this movie by frequent (sometimes too much) crisscrossing the times and environments. Characters in the movie repeat the same behaviors and mistakes never mind where and when. The devil in the movie seems to tirelessly also work the same way all over again. This movie in one scene shows recycling disposed human bodies for producing protein drinks long before Pluribus did it recently. A Czech New Age writer Ivo Wiesner wrote in his book You will pass to Heaven through Hell that one of the previous humans civizations overpopulated. The compromised global civilization was destroyed by higher beings. Allegedly that is why now our Earth has so much oil. Is something like that going to happen to us? Where might humanity be heading? Are we stuck in this physical reality in such a hopeless and senseless cycle temporarily or forever? If you want to know about our chance according to movie creators, you must see the whole movie. The ending is stunning and shocking, and I will not give you a spoiler.

Okay, let me start by saying that you will either get this film or you won't. I accept all negative reviews for movies I like, but not this one. Take a second and hear me out. Those who give this movie one star, or say nonsense like "It has no plot" or "It's terrible" Probably just don't get it. To them, it has no plot because honestly, they just can't wrap their heads around the deep and highly intricate plot and message this movie has. This movie is filled with an incredible plot that intertwines around 6 different stories that are actually one story. You might think like the other naysayers "Oh man this movie is horrible. It just jumps around" Actually, the so called "random jumping around" is actually planned perfectly. If you're smart enough, you can begin to see that it all makes sense. That the movies headline really has meaning "Everything is connected." Whether you like the amazing messages this movie gives or not, you have to appreciate the incredible editing and thought that went into this piece of art. The cinematography was also masterful. Not to mention the acting, script, and music. You MUST watch this movie with a very open mind. And your mind must be ready to pay close attention. If you're one of those people that says "Gotta go get a drink, you don't have to pause it" Well you, better not miss a single minute because if you do you could become lost quickly. I'm telling you, this movie is a masterpiece. It has incredible life changing messages and I can say without a doubt, it has become my favorite film of all time. Be ready to experience a plethora of feeling and emotions. This movie left me in the theater just sitting there. Everyone in the theater that I was in, just sat there. When the credits started and the soft piano theme came in, nobody moved. Nobody turned their heads, and nobody said a thing for a minute. No movie has ever left me in such confusion or in such loss. Even though I wasn't sure how to feel, I knew that this movie was revolutionary. It has changed me forever, and has inspired many thoughts and endless hours of late night discussion about the universe and life. It made me feel as one with the world and universe. It made me question past lives, future lives, and soul mates...if it is real. But this movie is just incredible in so many ways. Like I said, those that hate it, simply just can't understand the extreme depth of this movie. The plot is VERY intricate, but it makes sense. The movie does have meaning...lots of it. It's not just about reincarnation, or soul mates. It's about life...and the universe itself. Cloud Atlas is a true masterpiece and unfortunately, many people in the world just couldn't handle it or just didn't get it.

I did not have the experince of being offended by any of the material. Its not much diffferent than any amount of foul language or violence than any other movie of this rating, quite probably less. I also did not think it was hard to follow the different flashback and forth's to various lifetimes or storylines. The BAD? One story line did not fit for me at all, it involved a writer who's brother set him to a nursing home, perhaps it was added for comic relief, however, it seemed like putting an SNL sketch in the middle of the movie. I never did fully relate to many of the characters. Tom Hanks WAS a character to relate to in the 'most future' world (make sure you enable close captioning to get the most out of these segments as they use a 'future dialect' of English.). It was also quite distracting to use the same Mr. Smith character in the movie that the filmakers used for the Matrix. He did a good job, but it did seem like a poor choice to use him I guess. Unfortunately he is a bit cast type as being from the Matrix series. The 'lifetime' in future Seoul Korea and the other 'future' life are well worth the watch. How would I rate it. 3.5 to 4 stars. ....It is worth watching and is quite diffferent than most movies that you typically see, I do have to agree with other reviewers in that regard. I also do like the message of the I truly think that those who downright hated the movie couldn't follow it cause you DO need the close captions on for so much of this movie, even if you do have good hearing.

Pretty sure this is my all time favorite movie. It has such a deep beautiful message about life. This movie uplifts me every time I watch it my heart is full.

Having initially failed to get all the way through on our first attempt, even after our first complete viewing I didn't think I had anywhere near enough of a grasp on the complexity of the story to give a meaningful review. So much concentration is required to keep track of the reincarnated characters through the six time periods (1849, 1936, 1973, 2012, 2144, 2321 representing, presumably, the six movements of Frobisher's Cloud Atlas Sextet) that a second viewing is essential to even begin to understand its subtle elegance. Watching the second time with sub-titles also definitely helped to make sense of Tom Hanks' post-apocalyptic patois mumbling and also the central Sonmi character's heavy accent. A simple film this is not; it is no wonder it bombed in the States where the average woodlouse would give most of our cousins across the pond a run for intelligence and attention span, although I can understand why it didn't do well in UK cinemas either as the aforementioned complexity and nearly three hour running time would have made for an exhausting and baffling experience. Watching from the comfort of one's own sofa where you can rewind and pause to interpret, discuss, pour another glass of wine and go to the loo makes it more like sharing an engrossing book than watching a modern movie. I'm still not sure what the central message is (if there is a single one at all). We see the same actors playing different characters in each of the periods so, yes, reincarnation is a central theme but I'm not sure I totally understand the karmic aspect - do the nearly universally unpleasant Hanks characters redeem themselves in the far future where he helps the Prescients contact the off-world colonies thereby saving Earth? Who knows? Interestingly, now I think of it, following Frobisher's tragic suicide his character is not reincarnated in a major role while the aptly named 1936 Sixsmith character has a central role in each subsequent period. Also, the comet birthmark is interesting; does it represent the path of reincarnation or is it just a mark of a significant character in each period? I've no idea. I can't remember having seen such an ambitiously complex, interesting, thought provoking and downright mind-boggling film before. In these days of mindless whiz-bang special effects, it is lovely to see an enormous financial investment in producing such an obviously non-mass-market movie; wonderfully cast, lovely to look at and a thorough workout for the little grey cells. Splendid stuff and we will have to watch it loads more times. Perhaps, one day, possibly not in this lifetime, I'll understand it fully.

A wonderful movie. A must watch. The concept of the movie is inspiring and has to be watched more than once to fully grasp it.

Bardzo dobre kino sf z doborową obsadą. Każdy kinoman powinien ten film obejrzeć. Polecam.

Amateur de science-fiction, j'avais acheté ce film comme beaucoup d'autres, souvent par curiosité sans trop savoir à quoi m'attendre. Mais je dois reconnaître que peu de film ont suscité autant de curiosité voire de surprise de ma part, que ce déconcertant CLOUD ATLAS qui, pour moi, se présentait sous une forme de complexité rare et qui, en définitive, s'avérera très intéressant voire passionnant, dès lors que j'ai commencé à explorer les tréfonds de cette nouvelle création pleine de mystères et de trouvailles. Au début, vraiment décontenancé; maintenant, je suis conquis par cette histoire. Ne m'étant pas préparé à ce que j'allais voir, au premier visionnage du disque, je dois avouer que je n'ai rien compris. Certes, j'ai vu des plans images magnifiques et parfois surprenants sur un joli fond musical, de très bons acteurs en fonction souvent à multiples facettes, de nombreuses intrigues qui s'enchevêtrent les unes avec les autres mais, hélas, je n'avais pas échappé à un sentiment de confusion assez désagréable de prime abord. Clairement, j'avais du mal à suivre cette grande histoire, qui semblait s'apparenter à une fresque pseudo-historique, peut-être même une épopée trans-générationnelle, un peu un OVNI dans ma petite culture cinématographique (ça tombe bien, car on nage en pleine science-fiction). Néanmoins, j'étais persuadé que j'avais raté quelque chose et qu'il fallait certainement que je prenne de la hauteur pour mieux pénétrer les méandres de ce film. J'avais le sentiment que ce qui se déroulait devant mes yeux semblait important, peut-être même grandiose. Bien sûr, j'avais un apriori, les réalisateurs des excellents MATRIX ne pouvaient pas s'être trompés. Mais malheureusement, je ne réussissais pas à suivre ces fréquents et déroutants changements d'époques. De même, j'avais vraiment du mal à décrypter les cas d'emplois des personnages, des gentils, des méchants, de tous ces individus dont les destins croisés évoluaient dans différents espaces temps, avec de nombreuses interactions semblant les relier les uns aux autres. Au terme des 2 heures 50 mn du film, j'étais vraiment surpris et très désorienté, surtout lorsqu'en regardant le génériques de fin, j'ai constaté que je n'avais pas reconnu la moitié des acteurs présents dans quasiment chacune des époques de l'histoire sous des traits très différents (bravo pour le maquilleur). Un peu chiffonné par le fait d'avoir été complètement "largué" et un peu piqué au vif par ma curiosité, je décidai de revoir le film dès le lendemain avec une attention accrue. En le regardant à nouveau, certains éléments de la narration s'étaient éclairés, mais je dois dire qu'un bon nombre d'interrogations subsistaient dans ma tête. Il y avait tellement de choses à voir, tellement de détails à relever, tellement de thématiques et d'interprétations à comprendre, qu'au terme de l'exercice, ma curiosité n'ayant pas trouvé toutes les réponses voulues, je décidai de consulter différents sites Internet qui s'étaient essayés à expliquer voire décoder le film. Cela m'a beaucoup aidé pour la suite. Mais ce qui m'a le plus surpris dans ma façon de recevoir et d'apprécier ce film complexe, c'est qu'au lieu de me rebuter et de m'inciter à le classer dans le tiroir des nanars à oublier, j'ai voulu aller au bout de ma recherche de compréhension. Pour moi, ce film avait quelque chose d'attachant, qui m'avait bien accroché. Bien entendu, cette perception est totalement subjective, certainement relative à un certain état d'esprit du moment. Ce constat m'amena à regarder ce film 4 fois (quasiment 12 heures de TV) dans un temps relativement réduit, me permettant de l'apprécier toujours un peu plus à chaque fois, d'en parfaire ma connaissance et mon interprétation personnelle. Aujourd'hui, je peux dire que, pour moi, ce film est remarquable. Durant les 6 époques décrites dans cette grande histoire (si on fait abstraction de celle du narrateur = 1849, 1936, 1973, 2012, 2144 et 106 années après la Chute), où se côtoient et s'affrontent dans un éternel combat, le bien et le mal (incarnés par différents acteurs, dont les mentalités peuvent évoluées dans le temps), où se retrouve systématiquement le sentiment de l'Amour absolu et immortel, capable de se perpétuer bien au-delà du temps présent, j'ai trouvé passionnant la recherche des interactions de ces différentes histoires, des différents thèmes abordés et des rôles des personnages en actions, notamment de ceux qui portent sur leur peau une discrète tâche de naissance représentant une petite comète semblant réserver aux personnes concernées une destinée importante. J'ai beaucoup apprécié également le thème musical récurrent du film basé sur le "Cloud Atlas Sextet" qui, de bout en bout, accompagne et renforce à merveille, le sentiment et la perception d'une continuité et d'une cohérence dans l'enchaînement des événements. Le thème majeur du film est celui de la réincarnation, sujet complexe par excellence mais au combien intéressant également pour celui qui, comme moi, est un peu en quête de savoir. J'ai d'ailleurs toujours trouvé ce concept intrigant, sachant qu'il est très répandu dans bons nombres de croyances et de cultures depuis très longtemps. L'interprétation et la description du thème de la réincarnation dans ce film me semble originale et prenante. Même si le concept est très mystérieux pour le commun des mortels que je suis, j'ai adhéré à cette interprétation cinématographique. Même si elle est singulière, ce qui est sûr, c'est que cela a suscité ma curiosité et ma recherche d'une forme de vérité ou d'interprétation, une belle interrogation existentielle qui, parfois, peut tarauder notre esprit. Curieux de ces choses je suis, et donc curieux je demeure, mais me semble-t-il que ce film fera date pour les amateurs du genre. Pour finir, bravo aux talents de ces magnifiques acteurs qui ont évolué dans ce film en interprétant un nombre incroyables de rôles avec des apparences physiques et des personnalités parfois aux antipodes de leurs jeux traditionnels. Bravo à Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon et en particulier Hugh Grant, dans son interprétation très impressionnante de Kona le chef de tribu cannibale de l'époque "106 ans après la Chute". Je suis vraiment satisfait de cet achat et d'avoir découvert ce film.

The movie uses “arc storytelling” – so think of a Soap Opera – and you will get a feel for how they do it. The six time lines are INTENTIONALLY edited to be “disjointed” to show how WE perceive everything to be totally unrelated – so many people “gave up” on the movie before it even began because it was frustrating to understand why it was telling six stories – all “seemingly unrelated” and told in different styles (farce, drama, mystery, apocalyptic, utopian, etc). But as the movie goes along the editing (should have won an Oscar easily) makes it all come together so smoothly even a sentence is completed by jumping to all the stories. Another factor is that THE BOOK shows this “disjointedness” by just stopping a story midway, and launching into another story mid-sentence – also in THE BOOK the characters (souls) in each storyline would be totally unrecognizable, like changing cloud patterns (hence the name). However in THE MOVIE they give us a lot of help by using the same actors in every story but using makeup to change their appearance – so the “make up” looks real about 90% of the time, and the other 10% you are grateful because it helps so much. (SPOILERS) One thing I missed was the key sequence Susan Sarandon says to Tom Hanks – so important and I missed it totally the first TWO times I saw it. She is praying for him as says: 1) Bridge a-breaking, run and hide, 2) Hands-a-bleeding, Don’t let go of that rope, 3) Enemy-is-a-sleeping, Don’t slit that throat. If you listen, these words are repeated very softly later on in the movie. A final note on the editing brilliance – a scene that starts with the girl sitting on a window ledge and ends with the crack of lighning – it took my breath away it was so perfectly done. Outstanding.. highly recommended.