CLOUD ATLAS

COUNTRY: Germany, USA, Hong Kong, Singapore
RELEASE: 2012
GENRE: drama, mystery, sci-fi
DIRECTOR: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski
WRITER: David Mitchell (novel), Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski
MUSIC: Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil
RUNTIME: 172 mins
STARS: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Ben Whishaw, Doona Bae, Jim Sturgess, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, with Hugh Grant and Susan Sarandon

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Sitting home alone today, I thought what better thing could I possibly have done, than watching a movie. And since I’ve heard lots of bad opinions on this particular one, I’ve decided I had to see it myself.

‘The Cloud Atlas’ is based on a same-titled novel by David Mitchell, nominated in 2004 for the Booker Prize. It consists of six stories, each one from a different epoch, all of them having something in common. But it’s neither obvious nor easy to catch. In each story there is a repetitive motive of an ascent and descent, means of sharing information (a book, a movie, a journal, letters – depending on the epoch), a rebellion against the opressor and archetypes of characters. Actually, they are incarnated in each story, which is probably much easier to catch in a movie than in a book, as each archetype is played by one actor.

However, not having read the book, I had to check the characters’ connections and incarnations in each epoch. Although I thought I was able to see all of them (because actors tend to have characteristic features after all), little did I know about how many I have missed. I was really surprised that each character has six incarnations (believe me, their looks had little in common), and that actually they were only to be distinguished by a comet-shaped birthmarks located on differents parts of their bodies. I believe I would have to see the movie once again to fully understand all the links between the protagonists, but there are plenty of schemes on the Internet explaining them in a very easy way. One of them divides all the characters into archetypical groups. This way in each story we will find: an idealist, an apprentice, a believer, a weak opportunist, an enlightened innocent, an everyman chooser, an evil incarnate and a ruthless leader. Represented in each story by the same actor, they are easier to notice, but still – it is difficult. The character that surprised me the most was Georgette, an ugly woman in her fifties, played by… the amazing Ben Whishaw. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the end credits. Another huge surprise was Doona Bae playing a Mexican girl and Halle Berry in the role of a little doctor with the most slanted eyes I’ve ever seen.

The stories are said to be somehow connected, I, however, couldn’t really catch it. Apart from repetitive characters and plots, I believe the only connection between the worlds was Rufus Sixmith, who appears in two stories. I would have to read the book to fully understand it all.

The scenes I enjoyed most were those with Ben Whishaw, as I’m addicted to his voice. He is said to be one of Great Britain’s best narrative actors and I fully agree with that statement. What’s more, he has a very distinctive accent, very British, but amazingly clear at the same time, so there are no problems with understanding his lines.

I can’t really say whether the movie was stunning or not, it’s definitely one of love-it-hate-it ones. There were many features that I found amazing, many more were tragic, on the other hand. What deserves the most credit is definitely the makeup – which totally changed the actors, and music – especially the ‘Cloud Atlas Sextet’ composed in the movie by Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw). The special effects weren’t as breathtaking as I imagined, therefore I looked for another feature worth mentioning. And again, I need to read the book, because even the plot wasn’t gripping enough for me.

If I were to recommend this movie to someone, I would if they were huge fans of either a cast member or David Mitchell’s novel. Otherwise, I don’t think ‘Cloud Atlas’ is the best possible way to spend almost three hours on. It is nice to watch, but not more than nice. And the soundtrack? You can listen to it on the Internet.