Cloud Atlas is an epic of a film directed by Lana Wachowski, Andy  Wachowski (Matrix trilogy) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). This “meta-narrative” as Tykwer put it spans 500 years of history and is embedded with 6 tales set in different parts of the world. The story begins in South Pacific in 1849 and ends in post-apocalyptic Neo Seoul in 2144. The film is based on a novel by the same title by David Mitchell, which I have not read.

So, that is the outline of the film, but making the film and then making it accessible to a global audience is a whole different experience. The Wachowski’s and Tkywer shot the film in 2 different locations with 2 cinematographers, 2 production designers and then put it all together. When you watch the film it is not immediately evident that there were 3 directors working on the film. This maybe because the film moves back and forth to different periods in history, while maintaining its focus on the larger story of humanity and connectedness.

“Everything is connected is the crux of the story and let us see how the dots are connected in this 500 year saga,” that is what I scribbled in my notebook as I sat down to watch the screening of  Cloud Atlas. The opening shot is that of the Milky Way (I presume it is the Milky Way), and that scene dissolves to reveal a picture of an old man sitting in front of a fire telling a tale about voices etc. The next thing I knew I had stopped scribbling notes in my book, and tried to focus on the film to understand what was happening. I began to notice  details like the make-up  and the clever ways in which each artist morphed into a different character.

It took me a while to figure out that the film was “time-hopping” with the same ensemble of actors, who morph into a good person in one life, and a villian in another life. Once I understood that this was about the past, present and the future and there is this notion of reincarnation, karma and dharma things started to click. They don’t use those terms in the film. Maybe it was the timing of the screening of Cloud Altas with Dusshera that invoked those long, forgotten multi-threaded stories about the various avatars of gods and goddess of my childhood, which in turn may have colored my hybrid lens? Whatever be the case, I stopped writing and spent time trying to understand this film about “humanity,” and connectedness. Now, this was a theme I was familiar with having grown up in India, and listening to the epic stories from there.

I struggled to understand some parts of the film, but did not have to struggle with other parts. Maybe I was trying too hard?  Interestingly, the audience was engaged in watching the film and at one point  were visibly shocked by the brutality of one of the characters. You could sense the audience recoil in horror when they witnessed that scene. At other times, they were laughing and clapping. At the end of this 3 hour epic film some in the audience clapped, while others were still trying to figure out what they had just seen. “There was too-much of time-hopping,” one of them remarked in a loud voice. That, I think is going to be the challenge for viewers. There are some loose ends that don’t quite tie up, and I guess that is ok. The film addresses the larger issue of freedom, oppression, and this notion of connectedness that transcends geographical boundaries. It is about actions in one life, impacts your future life, and this is familiar territory for those of us, who grew up in India. It is also about love.

I have purposely refrained from describing the 6 stories that are melded into this “meta-narrative” of a film. It is really one big story that gets played out in different avatars, but with the same soul. The stories are familiar ones of greed, oppression, standing up for your rights etc. Those are universal themes, but what is more interesting is how they wove all those different strands into one big picture. This is a film where the directors have spent lot of their love, time and devotion and that is amply clear. But, maybe it too much for us?  I will leave it to  you, dear reader, to decide that. We bring our set of lenses when we go to watch a film. It depends what that lens is made of.

Special mention must be made of the music that enhanced the whole experience of watching the film.Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil scored the music. This is perhaps one of the rare times when a director is part of the music team. The other director that comes to mind is Clint Eastwood, who has composed music for some of his films.

The ensemble of actors who come in different avatars are Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Xun Zhou, Keith David and David Gyasi.

Coud Altas releases in the US today.