It’s not a movie, it’s a time machine. I don’t say this because Cloud Atlas is actually six stories in one that spans past, present and future, but because the movie started at 1:05, I blinked and then it was 4:00. The Wachowskis do such an amazing job of weaving the tales in and out like a tapestry, you hardly notice the time go by.

The film as a whole is about breaking out of the roles that society imposes on us. It’s about the patterns that humans seem to repeat, of those with power taking from those without, in order to grow their power. It’s also about love.

Like many of their previous movies, Cloud Atlas is very dense in dialog and rich in imagery. Each time period is distinctly portrayed in costuming, set design and dialect. Instead of telling the six parts one at a time, the filmmakers mix and match shifting from one to the other, like a well choreographed dance routine. It’s hard to describe the masterful job they’ve done here. You never get bored or distracted, even in a movie this long. I could easily have watched each story line as a separate movie. Especially the one in Neo-Seoul. I love Ridley Scott, but after this weekend, I desperately want Larry and Lana to do the Blade Runner sequel.

I don’t think anyone needs to be told that with a cast which includes no less than three Academy Award winners (Tom Hanks, Halley Berry and Jim Broadbent) the acting is superb. Every character is unique, wholely fleshed out and three dimensional, despite cast members each needing to play 3, 4, 5 and sometimes 6 different parts. Special mention needs to be given to Jim Sturgess. The man is a chameleon. He inhabits each person he plays so wholely you scarcely recognize it’s the same person playing them all.

I think with future viewings I’ll find even more layers, and when it is released on Bluray I will certainly make room for it on my shelf with the Matrix movies, Assassins and V for Vendetta (not Speed Racer though, sorry, everyone makes a mistake once in a while)

I have not read the book upon which the movie was based, but after I hit post on this blog entry, I’m heading to the Kobo store to see if it is available in e-book format.