Movie Monday: Film Recommendations By Our Contributors
A little over ten years ago, the incredibly ambitious Cloud Atlas was released. The film by the Wachowskis, a polarising film among critics and audiences alike, is both daring and impossible to describe over cocktail party chatter.
Put very simply, the movie (based on the novel by David Mitchell) revolves around six somewhat related stories that take place across millennia. Below this surface description is a highly philosophical take on reincarnation, karma, and how things are connected through the passage of time.
My aunt and I saw the film opening weekend. She had been a big fan of the book and recommended we go. We both thought the film was magnificent. Twenty four hours later Hurricane Sandy hit New York, where I lived at the time. With my work closed due to the storm, I welcomed the extra time I had to contemplate this very thought provoking film. It was like I had watched a film version of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. There is a lot to unpack.
What is most interesting about the film is its alternative take on time. Often movies that revolve around time are spin-offs of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. That is, there might be a time traveler who pops around, but can’t directly influence anything because of the so-called butterfly effect (see Hot Tub Time Machine or, well, The Butterfly Effect). Sometime if the reasons are altruistic, this rule is broken (such as in Back to the Future or X-Men:Days of Future Past). Cloud Atlas stands with just a handful of other films that provide a more nuanced take on the passage of time. The movie doesn’t follow the constraining ’cause equals effect’ formula like the others. It is instead a medley of moments, where connections are more free-form.
The film bills itself as a series of six vignettes or a sextet. In a clever mirroring move, the Wachowskis further bring this home by having one of the characters composing the fictional ‘Cloud Atlas Sextet.’ I bring this up as a piece of information, to help with the visualisation of the aforementioned medley of moments. Think of these moments as notes through history, but with the reverberations being heard throughout time. 2001: A Space Odyssey is the most famous movie example I can think of that is similar in this. In particular, the jump cut from prehistoric times with monkeys using tools to a scientifically advanced space ship as Strauss’ ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’ plays. We don’t see the history in between, but we can fill in the gaps, and come to realise how the past, present, and future become intertwined.
My favorite part of the film however are the characters. The movie uses a set group of actors (Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, and Tom Hanks to name a few) to portray a myriad of roles. It truly must have been an actor’s delight to be a part of this film, and Hanks has since ranked Cloud Atlas among his three favourite movies that he has ever been in. What is great about this directorial decision is that the viewer can see the effects of karma throughout the years, whereby continuity of performer (to an extent) stands in for the same ‘soul’ (however defined) living on in different bodies and times. Take for instance Bae Doona’s character. We first see her portray a woman who supports her husband’s stance on the abolition of slavery in 1849. By 2144, her character is reincarnated into a humanoid clone who exposes the slave-like conditions that the replicants live in. At the end of the film, which takes place in 2321, she is worshipped as a God. Actions have consequences both good and bad as souls reincarnate and travel through time.
It is admirable of the Wachowskis to undertake this film, not least because it is outside the sphere of other movies in their repertoire. Even with The Matrix films, with different universes, the time portrayed may be unclear but is always linear. Reincarnation is certainly a part of these films, but it seems almost secondary. The closest similarities between the two is the pursuit of freedom. Unlike in The Matrix where it’s simply freedom from machines, Cloud Atlas portrays the inherent desire for freedom. This manifests itself differently in all of us. All in all, Cloud Atlas is truly one of a kind.
Spending four years in development hell, Cloud Atlas almost never came to fruition. Thankfully, Hanks signed on to the film early. With a big name anchoring the film along with Hanks’s unabashed enthusiasm in ensuring the movie happened, the financing finally fell into place. The movie production was meticulously plotted out for chronological filming. Unfortunately this all fell into disarray when Halle Berry broke her foot three days into filming. The Wachowskis refused to replace her, and the filming schedule was redone to accommodate her. Watching the film now, one can hardly see any continuity errors.
The movie itself divided critics upon release. While Roger Ebert loved it, and gave it four stars, Mark Kermode called it an “honourable failure” in his first review. A few years later Kermode would re-watch the film, commenting that it was better the second time around. The film’s legacy has also been tainted by accusations of “yellowface,” with white actors cast in Asian roles. These calls were led by Guy Aoki, founding president of the Media Action Network for Asian–Americans, who at the time pointed out that Asian and Asian-American people are not regularly allowed to be Hollywood heroes (which is why more recent blockbusters that do give them this opportunity, such as last year’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, are so important). Such casting decisions have been defended, but perhaps detracted from Cloud Atlas‘ many merits, and may have contributed to its box office woes.
Perhaps however it is time for all of us to give Cloud Atlas another chance. It is a film where each subsequent viewing reveals a little more about the soul of the story. If you haven’t seen the film, and have found this review utterly baffling, please do give the film a watch. I am confident that you will be pleasantly surprised.
Words by Jordan Cracknell
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