Movie Review: Cloud Atlas

Remember those days when Bollywood was stuck in the "Love story" genre.. until one day it hit the peak level and then filmmakers started exploring new concepts.
There's something similar happening with Sci-Fi films in Hollywood.

"Cloud Atlas", for better or worse, is a 'brainy' sci-fi work that stands on top of all the other movies of its genre that flood Hollywood each year and breaks the mold by trying to go beyond 'Aliens' and 'Explosions'.
How much you like it depends upon how much you buy it and are willing to use your brain and let yourself into the film.

Based on a novel by David Mitchell the film is 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(courtesy of IMDB).
I haven't read the book so can't really say how well it's adapted.

Directed by Tom Tykwer(Run Lola Run),Andy Wachowski ,Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) this movie is an ambitious piece of art that can only be fully understood if you have the patience to get the "big picture".

Six different stories, of different genres, in different time periods are woven together to create a composite story which packs in around 12 well-known actors playing different roles that are connected in some way.
To do all that convincingly requires time and so the movie pans out for almost 3 hours.

The length of this film might test your patience but if you could just overlook such a minor quibble and hold on for an hour or so (especially in those parts involving gibberish English) you would be rewarded with something special.

All the stories played out well and were 'juggled' cleverly, my personal favorite being the tale of Sonmi-451 that forms the back-bone of "Cloud Atlas".

There's humor too. The story about Timothy Cavendish, a 65year old vanity press publisher(played by Jim Broadbent) who tries to escape from the nursing home was hilarious.
Also the music composed by Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek is delightful.

But, to be frank, it's a movie that works best as a whole and to judge it based on individual stories/aspects would not do any justice.

It's one of those movies that's not devoid of any "cheese" and yet the sheer scope and magnitude of the film is bound to put you in awe.. so much so that you forgive the filmmakers for steeling stuff from The Lord Of the Rings, The Big Lebowski, Waterworld..(I could make out three :) )

It's something that will be talked about for years and will be admired for its guts.

Conclusion: A must watch for a cinema lover because how often do you get to use your brain while watching seven movies for the price of one. :)