Cloud Atlas: A Tale of Birth, Death and Re-Birth

October 27, 2012

Cloud Atlas by directors Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, and Andy Wachowski is a cinematic Odyssey based on a novel by British author David Mitchell. The story centers on six stories from the 1800s up to our distant future. The concept of the eternal soul links the vignettes as the characters of one story are reborn into another.

From the travails of a young American in the mid-19th century on a vessel crossing the Pacific to a female clone who rises up against oppression in a futuristic society, Cloud Atlas is a grand tale about lessons learned from previous lives.

Lana Wachowski wrote and co-directed the film. “We started looking at the way the stories connected. We were immediately drawn to this concept what if the villain of one story is actually the hero of another story played by the same actor," she said.

To achieve this, each actor plays multiple roles. Tom Hanks is one of the leads. “On one page, you go from 1851 to 1974 to you know, dystopian future," he said.

The challenge was great says Halle Berry who has significant film presence and interprets six characters. “Each one of those characters, the soul evolved in order to have the strength to be the character that I ended up being," she said.

In her last incarnation, she plays a woman in the future who saves the world.

Cloud Atlas is also about eternal love.