Cloud Atlas

****
Dir. Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwerand
To even remotely describe this film, I'm gonna steal from Roger Ebert the Winston Churchill quote which he used in his review: "it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma". Cloud Atlas is a remarkably ambitious picture, which delves into an assortment of philosophical concepts by merging a multitude of stories and characters together. Written for the screen and directed by Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, and Tom Tykwerand, and based on the novel by David Mitchell, this is a movie which will be discussed for a long time.

As for the plot, I can tell you that it intertwines 6 stories together; each which take place in different time periods, ranging from the mid 19th Century to the aftermath of the apocalypse. I can tell you that Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent, and several others portray multiple characters. Combining speculative science-fiction with European romanticism, this complex and deeply provocative script rejects the standard formula for narrative storytelling; taking audiences inside the lives of a wide range of characters to present its overarching message. The central theme is that everything is connected, incorporating mythological and historical components to express this idea.

What makes this film so daring is the manner in which it is presented. Based on my interpretation, its targeted audience is much more selective than most movies. Rather than strive to entertain, it seeks to invoke the deepest layers of the viewer's consciousness and instill in him or her an inquisitive mentality. The pure intrigue and imagination which it possesses is impossible to deny.

Although the Wachowskis and Tykwerand were each in charge of three of the six stories, the artistic vision which they shared makes the experience of watching it less episodic and more centralized. While it is somewhat easy to distinguish the two different styles, the manner in which they merge into this epic makes it all the more fascinating.

The acting reflects the bold and ambitious attributes of this film. Hanks and the other leads play such a wide range of characters that it's almost impossible to tell who's who. In one scene Hanks is a survivor of the apocalypse residing in the wilderness, and in another he's a Scottish writer/cult hero who achieves fame through murdering one of his critics. There are also several interlocking love stories which the cast executes brilliantly. Between their performances and the incredible work of the make-up artists, the portrayal of these various characters is truly mesmerizing.

There are very few other films which I can relate this one to. While watching it, I was reminded at certain points of the Japanese anime classic Akira (1988, Katsuhiro Otomo); but even then, this contains so many more elements which make it all the more complex and daring. Cloud Atlas is quite a riveting experience, marking itself as a moment in the history of cinema which will leave a legacy for generations to come.