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:

Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain

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

The Jewel that Zachry (Tom Hanks) inspects at the beginning of the first post-apocalyptic sequence strongly resembles the buttons on Adam Ewing's (Jim Sturgess) jacket.

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Goofs

In the credits, Luisa Rey's stunt double is misspelled as Louisa.

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Quotes

Timothy Cavendish: We cross and re-cross our old paths like figure-skaters.

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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 Soylent Green (1973)

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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

Quite the Epic

My wife and I were able to see an advanced showing of Cloud Atlas last night at The Chicago International Film Festival. I will say that I was thrilled to see this movie from the moment I saw the initial trailer release. I am a huge fan of movies that are epic in nature and are rather daring by taking on the task of time lines that may span a millennia.

I will not provide any spoilers but I will say that the film is truly grand in scope and as you may have deduced from the trailer, the film time span passes through hundreds of years and includes many characters and story lines that are interwoven or overlap.

I cannot say enough about the performances in the film. From top to bottom, everyone displays amazing performances. Hugo Weaving obviously is a show stopper in several scenes. The make-up and costume design will throw even the seasoned film-goer off as the transitions made by these characters are nothing short of spectacular. I cannot see another film coming close to being in the same category for the Oscar in Costume and Make-Up.

The visuals and the score of the movie were the biggest takeaways for me. There were moments that reminded me of Blade Runner mixed with Out of Africa. There are a large number of stories within the film, some large and some small, but many strong enough to be individual films themselves. That being said with the long running time of the film, almost 3 hours, coupled with the multitude of story lines and the very numerous edits, the film can be a daunting task for even a seasoned viewer. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fighting to pay close attention to every detail to the first hour of the film to understand what was happening. The first 10 minutes alone caused me some confusion.

This film will not be for everyone due to its complexity and length, but for those who are true fans of films this epic in nature will truly appreciate the film. I very much look forward to another viewing of the film and encourage everyone to see the film at least once.

Cheers