Everything is connected. That’s the premise of the 2012 movie, Cloud Atlas. This German film is based upon the 2004 novel of the same name by David Mitchell. This R-rated movie is almost 3 hours long and for the most part, managed to fly under everyone’s radar last year. It’s a film 
that you either love or hate, and as you may have guessed, I loved this movie.
With an impressive cast of Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Doona Bae, among others, this movie is a treat and doesn’t seem long at all. The film consist of six interrelated and interwoven stories covering a period of 500 years. Every actor in this movie plays at least five different roles in the film’s six stories. It is a visual treat with an impressive soundtrack.
Objects and people flow from one story to another during the course of the film’s 500 year storyline. This is a film that might cause one to question their own philosophy about life. If your attitude is one of “one and done,” that is, you get one shot at life and that’s all there is, then this film will intrigue you. Because, yes, it’s a reincarnation story, but don’t disregard it out of hand because of that. The whole point of this film is that the things we do in this lifetime can affect the things that happen to us (or others) in the next. Toss a stone in a pond and watch the waves ripple outward. Now imagine those waves being the effects of your action across time and space, across life and death. That is the movie, Cloud Atlas. It’s nothing like the book, but I thought it worked. It’s a film that’s not deep, but is very wide and works because it is a well written and well acted movie.
Cloud Atlas is available on DVD and on pay per view (on demand). And to be frank, running at almost 3 hours, this movie is a massive investment of your time. However, it is an investment that will pay off with some great performances from some very talented actors in a very good story.