Cloud Atlas, the movie, is a series of
six (with a foreshadowed seventh) interwoven stories from different eras that
relate to each in some form or another. In watching this movie after taking
this class, the Buddhist influences are clearly visible. One of the first ideas
that stood out to me was the concept of samsara, or that idea that everything,
while being independent, is still inter-related, or samsara. The rest of the
concepts brought implied are more Buddhist based. Another major concept that
was included in the movie that we discussed in class was the topic of cause and
effect. Within each of the stories, starting from Ewing in California to the
tribes in post-apocalyptic Hawaii, the then main character of the particular
plot undergoes some form of transformation.
After being
saved from being poisoned, Ewing changes his views on slavery and the
anti-African American sentiment; Frobisher realizes that the era that he lives
in with never accept him or his music because of his sexual preference and commits
suicide; Sonmi-451 broadcasts the true fate of “fabricants” before captured.
Similarly, the other three threads of the story are enrapturing. The movie
cycles between the threads fairly quickly and it took me possibly the first
hour to actually realize what was going on.
The central
thought of the movie I felt, was related to rebirth, karma, and nirvana. Each
of the different story lines was like a different section of an orchestra: the 1st
violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos, basses, and piano. All
sections were playing something completely different, but yet each section at
one point or another, similar to Pachelbel’s Canon, played the same theme. The
Cloud Atlas Sextet, composed in the timeline of Frobisher, accounted for the
entire movie: 6 different voices all in harmony and disharmony with each other,
like samsara. Each rebirth was a different story, and nirvana was attained when
one’s purpose was complete and they were content- Sonmi-451.
Overall, I
really enjoyed the movie (when I actually figured out what was going on) and it
was a great break after studying for finals.
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