zqps

Not universally by any means. But there are plenty of people that expect a movie to fit a certain Hollywood formula, which includes not challenging your audience too much. And so they judge movies by standards that an epic and artistic endeavor like Cloud Atlas was never going to meet.

Also the whole “gender- and race-bending” made some people uncomfortable, even though it’s merely the same actors portraying completely different characters.

Add to this that certain influential studio voices in Hollywood had previously rejected the project outright when they were first approached by the Wachowskis. So it was clear they would never give it a fair shake after it was produced in Europe, against their judgment and without their blessing, and under such unconventional circumstances.

You’re probably right. I’ve never read the book.

Having the same actor play the same part in each time made following the plot easier, at least for me.

This is what I expected to see on first watch, and was a bit confused that at least some actors did actually “switch sides” between timelines. Going by interviews, it seems this was possibly meant to reflect an evolution of souls. But to me the message of the movie works just as well, if not better, if you leave out the concept of persistence of souls or individuals altogether, accept that some of them just look similar, and think more in terms of repeating patterns and ideas across eras.

Jim Brodbent in particular, I thought, delivered a spectacularly good performance.

Hard agree. His contemporary and light-hearted “shady publicist to nursing home jail break” plotline also really worked well to ground the movie in between epic-dramatic segments.

It spoke to me when I watched it at the right point in my personal development. As is often the case with movies or experiences that try to convey something meaningful, whether the message lands depends just as much on the watcher. I honestly don’t blame anyone for whom it was a lengthy and confusing blurb. The narrative structure and casting choices are so far outside what audiences are used to, that the script was thrown out by every major Hollywood studio at the time despite the prestigious names behind it. I myself was quite confused on some of the timelines and characters until my 2nd rewatch, and that’s a lot to ask for a movie of this length. It really never had a shot at mass appeal, so in an economic sense those studios were right. I’m just fascinated and grateful it ever got made. It truly was a leap of faith and a labor of love for many, the Wachowskis and Tom Hanks in particular. And I feel like this shines through in the final release, rough edges and all.

I read the story you linked and I absolutely see the parallels. I feel like I may have read it once already years ago. It’s quite the philosophically intriguing concept.

The things you mention are narrative elements. The message is repeated almost like a mantra throughout the movie, and later revealed or summarized as the ‘prophetic’ words of Son-Mi:

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.

This is the core thesis of the movie, standing in direct opposition to the various antagonists’ ideology, which can be summed up as self-serving nihilism, and upholding the status quo of might makes right / “natural order” by any means.

Lots of people love to hate Cloud Atlas. I see it as flawed work of art with a good message and an amazing cast, produced under such nearly impossible circumstances that we are more than lucky it ever saw the light of day.

mOSque

You think you can shoot your way out of this?

True even if your movement has pure intentions and is run mostly by capable idealists, which is rare in itself. Power corrupts.

Money makes the world go round

Are they publicly traded?

bad planning and profit are of course words never uttered in connection with German infrastructure projects.

wtf? Decentralized production is one of solar’s greatest advantages.

… but we make decisions about economic viability on that basis??

Fortunately these aren’t the only options.

What an absolutely disgusting crowd she fell in with at a young age, that poor woman. I despise these cliques of narcissistic abusers and their sycophants. Thanks for raising awareness.

This is an argument akin to “What do you mean I’m accused of fraud? All I really did was write my name on a piece of paper!”

It requires deliberate ignorance of the context, and that’s why people are unwilling to waste time explaining it to you in detail.

Oh absolutely. Gotta keep the plebs desperate and divided, while billions upon billions disappear into the most toxic and destructive industry there is right alongside fossil fuel corporations.

They managed to keep military spending at an unprecedented level after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, in an amazing feat of governmental capture and exploitation by arms industry lobbyists. But it wasn’t enough, because it never is. Line must go up. The US has been seeking new reasons to funnel even more money their way ever since.

Central too. Dole & United Fruit, Panama Canal, School of the Americas, just to mention a few lasting atrocities

I mean a lot of US folks seem way more smug than actually upset about it. Bringing it up to derail the conversation whenever anyone mentions US imperialism or the one-sidedness of NATO policy, as if the US would ever accept, let alone desire a position as equal among equals.