Savoring the Vision of Cloud Atlas
It’s not a second watch movie either. There’s a lot going on physically and intellectually- concepts and ideas being thrown around as big explosions, violence, big great escapes and some bits of sex were running all at the same time in the background. My senses were on overdrive; I was trying to absorb that amazing visuals at the same time, and I think I may have failed my brain trying to grasp more of Cloud Atlas than I was allowed on a second viewing on a noisy theater.
That’s why I just pre-ordered this.
Surprisingly enough, clocking at nearly 3 hours, Cloud Atlas feels too rushed like all the universe had been compressed into this tiny world. It was never enough. It was as if a mindless blockbuster had met with a deep spiritual art house film in a perfect blend. Though I don’t think it was as affecting as Aronofsky’s The Fountain, I did find Cloud Atlas to be more accessible than that one, or The Tree of Life or 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It’s really a shame the film isn’t really making an easy profit, and even more sad that most film critics didn’t back it up. It seems Cloud Atlas is riding on the back of movie bloggers instead.
The first time I sat through CA, I didn’t like it much (feel free to bitchslap me if you want to). But I’m not sure if I wanna check it out a second time. With Tree of Life, despite being both frustrating and great to watch, I still wanna to see it again after some time, which I did. CA didn’t gave me that feeling, except for Doona Bae’s character, who I would have loved to see getting nominated.
@Rodrigo, I found Tree of Life incredibly boring, like… excruciatingly dull and I wanted it to be over soon. I would never consider re-watching it on TV if I ever run into it. LOL Aside the pretty visuals, whcih I guess wouldn’t be appreciated on a smaller screen, very much like 2001. In CA, in terms of productions, in terms of wanting to be a blockbuster of epic proportions and still be considered “indie,” I could respect that. I think the book was considered impossible to shoot, and I could definitely see why. Elements like that on top of each other on a global scale, I think it demands my admiration.
A regular Hollywood flick could have demanded Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li on roles, but they chose Zhou Xun and Doona Bae. I couldn’t be happier with that. xD
Even if it’s of easier access, projects like these are still very risky.
And come one… considering the make-up in Hitchcock, some of the make-up in Cloud Atlas was better than the one in that movie.