Cloud Atlas (The Movie)

“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime, and every kindness, we birth our future.” - Somni 451


My dear Sixsmith,

I witnessed a marvel today. A strange and beautiful movie called Cloud Atlas. At first it seemed too huge and unwieldy, ever in the danger of crumbling under its own weight. There was just so much to behold at once, and with a timeline that spanned centuries through six different stories it was almost inevitable that incoherence and confusion would somehow seep in. There is the story of friendship between Ewing and the black stowaway; the criminal mystery of Louisa Ray; the comical escapades of the elderly Mr. Cavendish; the inspiring uprising of Somni 431 - an android in a futuristic Seoul; a post-apocalyptic tale of a man searching for courage; and then there is our story Sixsmith, of love and loss, and inspiration that will forever define the future.

The movie constantly teetered on the edge of turning into a colossal mess, and to many people in the audience I realize that is just how it might have seemed judging by the vocal complaints flying during the show. It was at times incomprehensible, and to add to that many of the actors were cast in different roles in different stories. While Tom Hanks might be an innocuous doctor aiding with an investigation in one story, he would return as an Irish writer or a tribal goatherd in another. This just further added to the confusion. If you are not paying attention, it is easy to get lost in who is what and where.

But as it went on, as it wove six distinct and seemingly unconnected tales together, I began to fall in love with its imperfections and blemishes. Sure it was not perfect. Far from it. But, there are works of art, Sixsmith, and then there are labors of love, and Cloud Atlas is the latter. And like all true love it is not perfect - for all it struggles, it endures. Nobody can deny the heart that went into making this movie. Most such movies suffer because not enough though is put in though has been put into them. No one can say the same about Cloud Atlas. If anything, Cloud Atlas has too much thought out into, and with three directors all putting their all into it, you can almost literally see each of the separate stories battling it out on screen to be the better one. Each vignette seems like a hand-crafted story of different genres that will rarely be coupled together let alone be packed all six in one. A guarantee, that you have never seen anything quite like this before.

There is so much to say about this movie that I would never know where to begin. It is a movie with so much going on at once that it is sure to polarize audiences for decades to come. Like the rare few before it like Blade Runner, which have broken free of pre-existing moulds, there will be no person who comes out of the hall and say "it was ok". You will either love it or hate it. And like Blade Runner I might never fully understand grasp all the high ideals and concept that the movie concealed, but I do know this that yesterday, I believe I would never have done what I did today. I feel like something important has happened to me. Is this possible?

Watch Cloud Atlas.

Love,

Robert Frobisher

V for Vendetta

before i begin let me clarify one thing, the movie is not the same as the original graphic novel. Though they share the same the name and characters, the setting and scenarios might seem similar, they are still two completely different souls.

The graphic novel -
overview - set slightly in the future when nuclear war has destroyed most of the world and England has survived somehow, mostly by staying out of it. The country is being run by a fascist government, who believes in unilateral thought so as to maintain control. But they do so as a reason to keep the country together and prevent it from destruction. Here now a character called V emerges. He is a mysterious character who has set his goal of bringing down the present government and restoring democracy. he also has an underlying tale of revenge. He is dressed in a cape and wear's a Guy Fawkes mask. His acts range from vicious murders to destroying buildings, mostly monuments that are symbols of the government's power. He promises the people a revolution. He is aided in his quest in part by a young girl - Evey Hammond, who finds in him a protector from her troubled past. Later on in the story in he tortures her only to make her faith in him stronger and towards the end when he dies, she takes on his visage and completes the revolutions.


Perceptions - Alan moore's V for vendetta deals with the question of the veracity of terrorism to solve the system's problem. Mind you, in his story the government is restrictive but not to extremes and the reasons behind it are quite justified. The reason for V's dissent is open to discussion. It is easy to perceive him as either an extremist or a revolutionary, it all depends on one's point of view, quite like many scenarios in our country. Are his actions born more out of frustration or impatience? Does he act for the sake of the vox populi or that of vested interests? will his actions change things for better or lead to more decay?
As a person who found himself with a foot on both sides of the line at the end, i must say these are questions that must be asked and answered by only those who choose to act on such impulses. As a citizen of 'democratic' country and that too living in one of its most stable regions, these questions mean little to me first hand. But what they do do is give me an insight into what those who we consider terrorists might be thinking, of why they act so rashly.
Perhaps it is then human nature to lash out against any form of governance and control? Why is it so necessary for us to hate any form of command? Is it some primal urge for violence that cannot be controlled? i have come to believe so, because no matter how well maintained a civilization might be, there is always dissent and always the possibility of upheaval.

As a story, it is well scripted, the characters well etched out but the initial few chapters do suggest a sort of political naivete, Though this does little to dampen the pace and grandeur of the plot. The story moves from one set piece to another with ease and the narration and monologues are at par with those you might find in only superb theater productions. A great example is that of the conversation V has with the statue of Madam Liberty before he blows it up. He does both sides himself and accuses her of having cheated him and bedded other men, and the whole while dramatically reacting as if it were an actual conversation.
The character of V itself is one of the most intriguing characters you will meet in all of literature. He is at once Utopian and dystopian, from virulent to tranquil, you will deem him stark-mad one second and nodding in agreement with his ideas the next. He is no super-hero, not even a hero, just a man led by his beliefs and his quest for a better world by whatever means he deems necessary. I dont think i will meet someone quite like him ever again.
in conclusion, this is one of the books you MUST read if you are into graphic novels and even if you aren't, you should find yourself a copy and stop considering them as just comics (please do yourself a favour and rid yourself of the notion that anything that is drawn is for children. you are missing out on some of the most spectacular and thought-provoking stories that the human imagination has to offer).

VERDICT : BANG! brains blown out!
(for rating pattern please refer to post #1)




the motion picture -
overview - the characters in the movie are mostly the same, but the setting has changed. The system is still fascist in nature but power is the main motive. The people in power have risen up only due to greed and false propaganda. The citizens are no longer contained for the sake of their own safety but for that of retaining complete control. V has risen to counter this system. He is the voice of the people who have grown tired of of the law being manipulated by the echelons of power while the same laws ensnare the common man. He becomes a vigilante dealing justice to those who deserve it and he promises the country freedom in a year which he does so with the help of Evey (and though she does not don his visage in the end, her actions are somewhat to the same effect).

Perceptions - there are no two sides to the story here. The system has failed and the blunt question to be answered without hesitation is : "will you be the one to fix it?" perfectly summed up in one of the last lines of the movie when Inspector Finch questions Evey on the identity of V, she answers "he was my father, my mother, my brother, my friend, he was you and me"
so does this make it one sided? a weaker version of the original? perhaps or else perhaps it makes something entirely new. I dont know about you but i found the world described very much similar to ours. Everyday we hear new stories about the rich and the powerful getting away with whatever they do and the common man who stands by the sidelines watching the Tamasha. For me, i remember the first time i saw it when it came out, i couldn't think about anything else for the next couple of days. I kept on thinking if this was the answer and even now i'm not sure that it isn't.
"people shouldn't be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of the people" he said. But is it true? what chance do people have against the vast powers of the system? Complete, i say.
this movie isn't about the question of terrorism as most would have you believe, because terrorism implies terror and the character of V in this inspires anything but terror. He is the spark that ignites the fuel, the starter of the domino chain, the symbol behind which all rally. (We are still awaiting ours.)The movie is about change, and of forcing it when things get out of hand, of the power of simple symbols such as buildings to influence the course of history and of ideas like freedom and democracy that stand the test of time because "ideas are bulletproof".
that aside, i found the changes made in story and plot quite intelligent (a direct conversion would have been disastrous). And being produced by the wachowski brothers ( the matrix) some cool action scenes were to be expected. In the acting department Natalie Portman steals the show, especially her 'conversion through torture' scene was stellar. The dialogues are a class apart. They are not just copies from the novel, Instead i found most of them to original creations themselves like the Introduction given by V to Evey when he first rescues her, which is one of my favorites.

Evey: who are you?
V: who? who is but the form following the function of what and what i am is a man in a mask.
Evey: well, i can see that.
V: of course you can. i am not questioning your powers of observation. I'm merely remarking on the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.


VERDICT : SUPER LIKE
(for rating pattern please refer to post #1)