Review of Cloud Atlas (2012) by Andrew M — 11 May 2016

An unlikely friendship between a sick sailor and a stowaway slave. A talented young composer hiding his homosexuality. A journalist investigating a conspiracy within a nuclear reactor corporation. An elderly man escaping a retirement home he's been placed in against his will. A clone catalyzing a revolution in futuristic Seoul. A tribesman living in a post-apocalyptic society discoving himself spiritually.

These six tales may seem completely unrelated, but leave it to the Wachowskis (as well as source material author David Mitchell, of course) to interweave such seemingly disconnected storylines into a single, philosophical storyline spanning hundreds of years. It's a daunting task, but surprisingly, the Wachowskis manage to pull it off. It should be said that Cloud Atlas is not for everyone: anyone expecting an action packed thriller in the vein of the Matrix movies will be disappointed with the deliberate pacing and deep themes. For everyone else, though, it will prove to be a rather stunning look at souls interconnected throughout different generations, and a look at the human spirit and its refusal to be held down, and how people and events in life can affect one another. It's a lot to digest, but for anyone willing to push through the three hour runtime, which actually moves surprisingly fast, the experience is completely worth it. There's a lot of questions to be had, and everyone's answers will be different, which makes for a very fascinating piece of film. The biggest question to be had with Cloud Atlas: why don't the Wachowskis deliver this kind of quality with all of their films? This is far and away some of their best work.