Fourteen years ago, I walked into a theater not knowing the film would haunt me.
I saw it on Saturday. Then I went back on Sunday.
#CloudAtlas is profound, artistic, brave, and brilliant, all at once. Six stories, six instruments, one piece of harmony moving through centuries. Comedy and tragedy. Drama and even farce. Past and future, unfolding at the same time.
Here is what stayed with me. The film refuses to hand you its meaning. It hides the treasure, scatters the clues, then makes you earn it. Most viewers will dismiss it for exactly that reason. The patient few get rewarded.
Movies are like music. We can all listen to the same tune, yet not all of us actually hear it. That is the real test of great #Storytelling, and few films dare to be this challenging.
So I gave it a verdict. A number I have handed to almost nothing else in all my years of reviewing film.
What was the number? I left it, and the full review.
#FilmReview #ScienceFiction #Wachowskis
“Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime, and every kindness, we birth our future.” Sonmi-451.
Cloud Atlas is a marvel of filmmaking and storytelling that will deliver more upon each viewing. It is extremely ambitious in its scope and scale, and in that sense, it is a huge step up from The Matrix. I really want this movie to be a huge blockbuster success. Yet I doubt it would happen. For if it did, it would mean that it didn’t challenge us hard enough. And my most significant reason to recommend watching this film is that it is as challenging as it is rewarding in a number of subtle though profound ways.