Cloud Atlas (2012)

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.

Directors:

Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski,

Writers:

David Mitchell (novel), Lana Wachowski (written for the screen by),

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 28 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Dr. Henry Goose / Hotel Manager / Isaac Sachs / Dermot Hoggins / Cavendish Look-a-Like Actor / Zachry
Halle Berry	...	Native Woman / Jocasta Ayrs / Luisa Rey / Indian Party Guest / Ovid / Meronym
Jim Broadbent	...	Captain Molyneux / Vyvyan Ayrs / Timothy Cavendish / Korean Musician / Prescient 2
Hugo Weaving	...	Haskell Moore / Tadeusz Kesselring / Bill Smoke / Nurse Noakes / Boardman Mephi / Old Georgie
Jim Sturgess	...	Adam Ewing / Poor Hotel Guest / Megan's Dad / Highlander / Hae-Joo Chang / Adam (Zachry's Brother-in-Law)
Doona Bae	...	Tilda / Megan's Mom / Mexican Woman / Sonmi-451 / Sonmi-351 / Sonmi Prostitute
Ben Whishaw	...	Cabin Boy / Robert Frobisher / Store Clerk / Georgette / Tribesman
Keith David	...	Kupaka / Joe Napier / An-kor Apis / Prescient
James D'Arcy	...	Young Rufus Sixsmith / Old Rufus Sixsmith / Nurse James / Archivist
Xun Zhou	...	Talbot / Yoona-939 / Rose
David Gyasi	...	Autua / Lester Rey / Duophysite
Susan Sarandon	...	Madame Horrox / Older Ursula / Yusouf Suleiman / Abbess
Hugh Grant	...	Rev. Giles Horrox / Hotel Heavy / Lloyd Hooks / Denholme Cavendish / Seer Rhee / Kona Chief
Robert Fyfe	...	Old Salty Dog / Mr. Meeks / Prescient 1
Martin Wuttke	...	Mr. Boerhaave / Guard / Leary the Healer

Storyline

Everything is connected: an 1849 diary of an ocean voyage across the Pacific; letters from a composer to his friend; a thriller about a murder at a nuclear power plant; a farce about a publisher in a nursing home; a rebellious clone in futuristic Korea; and the tale of a tribe living in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, far in the future.

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Plot Keywords:

future | composer | clone | nursing home | reporter | 

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Taglines:

Everything Is Connected

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language, sexuality/nudity and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Germany USA Hong Kong Singapore

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 October 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atlas oblaka

Filming Locations:

Krematorium Baumschulenweg, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$102,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,612,247 (USA) (26 October 2012)

Gross:

$27,098,580 (USA) (18 January 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cloud Atlas Productions, X-Filme Creative Pool, Anarchos Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

172 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

James D'Arcy is the only actor to play the same character (Rufus Sixsmith) in two different segments.

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Goofs

When Zachry is looking for enemies in his family's hut, he is holding the knife upside down. Several seconds afterwards, the knife is facing up.

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Quotes

Robert Frobisher: And all becomes clear. Wish I could make you see this brightness. Don't worry, all is well. All is so perfectly, damnably well. I understand now, that boundaries between noise and sound are conventions. All boundaries are conventions, waiting to be transcended. One may transcend any convention, if only one can first conceive of doing so. Moments like this, I can feel your heart beating as clearly as I feel my own, and I know that separation is an illusion. My life extends far beyond the ...

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Crazy Credits

When a montage is shown of all the characters the actors are playing, the font of the names changes with each time period.

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Connections

References Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Looking For Freedom"
Music by Jack White
Lyrics by Gary Cowtan
Performed by David Hasselhoff
© by Radiomusic - International (50% for Germany/Austria/Switzerland) / Young Music Publishing (Remaining World)
Courtesy of Universal Music Publishing Group (Germany)
Mit Freundlicher Genehmigung von Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH

User Reviews

A genre-breaking classic

There can be little doubt that Cloud Atlas will become a classic that will be watched over and over again by its devoted followers, just like its predecessors by Stanley Kubrick and Ridley Scott. Despite the many questions I had in my mind when I left the theater and the moments during the film when I felt disappointed or confused, I knew this, and I have not stopped thinking about the movie and longing to be back in front of the screen.

It is easy to criticize this movie as some have done for being overly ambitious, pandering to low taste, being too simple or too complex, with too few actors or too many, or even for celebrating revenge violence against professional critics who write negative reviews. They may all be correct, but these critics will still put themselves in the same category as those that warned audiences against 2001 or Blade Runner. The truth is that Cloud Atlas is profound in its reach, its visual and acoustic impact, its mesmerizing flow and its completely ground-breaking storytelling, and movie goers will see it and feel it in their guts.

It is a movie that is a product of our age of internet-driven universal knowledge and vision, and the freedom we have to travel the world and jump between ages, genres, images and identities at our will. It reminds us that we are human and that we can still hear our heart beat, if we listen.