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Cloud Atlas (2012)

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Here's a tale of different stories that interweave. I have no idea what any of it means - if it means anything, but it was both a fast-paced and a fantastic mesh of adventures. It had scenarios of the sea, of the past, of the future, of the bright and the dark and dystopian, and all of it was awesome. Though it took me a couple of tries to get started. First time, it felt like a messy introduction, and I was tempted to let it be. But if you do bear with him, as one of the narrators advice, there's not just one adventure waiting for you, but many, and each as immersive as the next.

The most interesting aspect of this movie, apart from the movie itself, is how some actors play multiple roles, between times, and how the stories all weave together so fluently. Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae and Hugh Grant play 6 roles a piece, and Halle Berry plays 7. Hugo Weaving plays most of the villains, and even a female nurse!

It's cool how everyone's a totally different person for each role. Their lifetimes play in parallel, and their stories both make you laugh and cry (well, not literally, I never cry) and smile and frown. There's a lot going down, and somehow it's all related. The future inspires the dystopia after it, yet it was the past that created it all, and traces from the past that make their way to the future. If there's any one main connecting point, it might be the Cloud Atlas symphony.

The sceneries are as inspiring as the tales Zachry tells, sitting by the fire, far off in the future, surrounded by a ring of kids that might be his, fire still glowing in his eyes.

How do you properly describe the plot of this movie? Not even IMDB can describe it in a less abstract way than an exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

But maybe that's alright. It's one of those movies you'll have to watch to really experience, and it seems a bit similar to John Carter. Not in plot, but more so in feeling. Like pure magic. It's an imaginative, inspiring, yet occasionally darkly somber collection of character tales told in parallel. Great watch.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

Comments

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  1. S3C
    Thursday Apr/7/2016

    oh cool you watched it!! A simply astoundingly astute and provocative and movie. Perfect casting, perfect vignette of stories that subtly mesh together. An experience unlike any other movie. Feels complete, yet leaves you wanting for more. Each of the six stories (seven if you count the narrator) would have been splendid movies on their own. I agree, magical would be a perfect word to describe this film, but I'm really not feeling any John Carter vibe here. That movie's more like Avatar.

    just a 4!? IMO it's the best film that's been released this decade behind Inception, albeit I haven't seen most films that have been released from 2013 onward.

  2. Cyber
    Thursday Apr/7/2016

    That it is, and does! Hmm, maybe the narrative approach to John Carter was similar? It just felt familiar somehow.

    On the verge of a 5. But it didn't feel entirely flawless to me. It is inspiring, and magic and all that, but maybe the abstractness of it all leaves me a bit lost; looking for clarity. Looking thought my movie list, old scores might do some titles injustice though. A few movies I reviewed a few years ago have fives that don't really feel merited now, yet titles like Shutter Island (also amazing) shares the four score.

    This was great but... 5 feels like the pinnacle of perfection to me. Maybe I just need to rewatch to get that impression.

  3. S3C
    Saturday Jun/30/2018

    never cry huh?? *dices onions right in front of your face*

  4. Cyber
    Saturday Jun/30/2018

    But those are just tears of joy over the health benefits these nutritious fumes bring out upon reaching the sensitive whites of my eyes!

  5. S3C
    Wednesday Jun/28/2023

    ever seen Cities of Last Things

  6. Cyber
    Wednesday Jun/28/2023

    I'm starting to accumulate a bit too many promising titles man! XD But no, looks good too, adding to watchlist...



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