Cloud Atlas

Ratings: 6.8/10

Film Class: A

Genre: Fantasy Drama

This narrative-style artsy fantasy film spans across 6 main plots, across different eras which are somehow connected. Unlike connect-the-dots movies like Crash and Love Actually, the ending doesn't tie up everything blatantly, it left me rather confused and wondering whether I had wasted 172 mins of my life. I would love to think there is a deeper meaning behind the entire plot, but unlike Youth Without Youth (another brain-haemorrhagic-inducing film), I don't even know where to start thinking from. 

Lemme try to summarise the 6 main plots: there's one on a futuristic tribe, one of song composing, one on an ocean voyage with a twist, one on the uprising of a clone in yet another futuristic world, one on a publisher with his encounters in an old folk's home and one on journalism to uncover a conspiracy. The main themes are love, deceit and beliefs.

There were of course hints here and there, but they're like catching bird droppings (pardon me but I can't think of a better analogy). They're so random, and you'll have to be extremely sharp to catch those hard-to-pronounce, hard-to-register names verbally thrown out by the different characters. It's those names that will give you a better overall picture. But even if you do catch them, there's not much time to think. It's like watching a montage of short clips, the scenes of the 6 main plots kept alternating, contributing to the confusion.

Con(s). Confusing plot, with no proper closure. 

Pros. Great cast, and was interesting to see them being "re-used" in the 6 different settings. Some of the characters were obvious, while there were a handful disclosed during the ending credits which will leave you thinking "No way!" 

The words used during the narration sounded so beautifully poetic, even though there was a whole chunk load of words which I don't understand.

While logic states that 2 pros outwieghs 1 con, the duration of the film magnified the con. I don't think it's that worth your time, unless you're someone who can spare lots of it.