Cloud Atlas

Accusations that contemporary entertainment cinema faces time and again are a lack of courage, a lack of originality and the constant rehashing of familiar and far too worn-out ingredients. In some months, when looking at the cinema programme, one actually gets the impression that there is hardly anything other than sequels or remakes. Sure, there are always some excellent and extremely entertaining works among them. But something that feels new or refreshingly different is really very rare anymore. The problem with this, however, is that not only do the makers lack new ideas and the courage to implement them, but also that it's hard to find a wide audience for ambitious, different films. And without an audience, lucrative sequels would rather continue to be financed.

Now, with Cloud Atlas, another film is finally coming to our cinemas that completely defies common viewing habits. Whether you find the end result fascinating, wonderful and beautiful or tedious, confusing and horrible is up to you. Fortunately, tastes are different. But the reproach of lacking originality and courage can't be made against the lavish production. Tom Tykwer, together with siblings Lana and Andy Wachowski (Matrix), directed six interwoven stories spanning a period of 500 years, with many of the prominent actors such as Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent or Doona Bae playing multiple roles. In the process, they were sometimes rendered so unrecognizable by the excellent work of the makeup artists that in some cases it's a real surprise when the credits show who embodied which characters.

Summarizing the film's content in brief is nearly impossible and won't even be attempted at this point. (<link cinema s topic the-cloud-atlas-storyguide.html _blank>More on the content can be found HERE in the detailed Story Guide). Even a close factual or philosophical analysis, which this work certainly invites, makes little sense in my eyes. After all, Cloud Atlas is one of those films that each viewer will experience on a very personal level. The problem with the enormous flood of images, plots and layers of meaning, however, is that it takes a relatively long time for the film to settle down. It can happen that the first impression can change in the course of a few days, as long as what you've seen is hard to let go of and you're still willing to reflect on it afterwards. However, since for most moviegoers it is the immediate experience that counts and thus the film is also quickly checked off, Cloud Atlas might have a hard time developing its full and actual power with a wider audience.

Certainly, a clear statement can be made about certain aspects of the film. The set design, the special effects, the aforementioned work of the make-up artists, and even most of the cast can really only be rated positively. But whether this is also true for the overall impression depends much more on the personal experience of the film than with other movies. This makes Cloud Atlas comparable to Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, which also divided the audience. However, the experience of the film does not take place primarily on a spiritual level as it does with Malick. With Cloud Atlas, there are numerous other levels on which this extremely complex film can be felt in a very personal way. And while some are touched and carried away by the stories, the images, the music or a message that one believes to recognize, the jumble of constantly changing narrative threads, of philosophical, religious or ethical undertones in the story or the pathos that is applied a bit thickly here and there trigger boredom, incomprehension or, in the worst case, even pure annoyance in others.

Instead of a generally held recommendation I can therefore only express my very personal feeling. I was absolutely fascinated by Cloud Atlas on a purely technical level. I was also pleased to be presented with something that, despite being made up of many familiar ingredients, somehow felt new and simply different. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I understood all of the connections between the narrative threads and their underlying meaning. Still, the film didn't leave me completely confused. Rather, I felt a bit slayed by the visuals and some very strong plot elements, so I didn't engage in the usual discussions with my colleagues after the press screening. I let the film settle before coming to the conclusion that Cloud Atlas is, for me personally, a very great film - but that at the same time, I can understand anyone who this work didn't reach at all. So my recommendation: if you have the feeling that there is always only the same thing to see in the cinema, then take the risk and see Cloud Atlas. Because even if you're not one of those who leave the cinema thrilled, at the end of it at least you can't claim to have seen anything comparable in this form before. And that's definitely worth the price of admission!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp