Cloud Atlas
Six stories scattered across centuries echo one another through rebellion, love, exploitation, and the enduring possibility of human solidarity.
Overview
A sweeping narrative that intertwines lives across time and space, revealing the profound connections that bind humanity together.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- Moderate
- ambitious
- thoughtful
- melancholic
- immersive movie night
- literary adaptation marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film's ambition, performances, visual scope, and thought-provoking structure while finding its sprawling interwoven narrative unwieldy for many viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Six narratives span an 1849 Pacific voyage, a composer's correspondence, a 1970s conspiracy, a nursing-home farce, futuristic Korea, and a post-apocalyptic future.
The principal cast repeatedly appears as different characters across the six storylines, supporting the film's ideas of reincarnation and continuity.
Sonmi-451's storyline follows a rebellious clone confronting exploitation and authoritarian power in futuristic Korea.
The film moves from a Pacific voyage and 1930s musical circles to dystopian Seoul and a post-apocalyptic Hawaiian landscape with large-scale visual design.
Films like Cloud Atlas, and why
The Fountain
Interlocking stories across eras explore recurring human connections and moral consequences.
The Matrix
A sprawling, nonlinear science-fiction drama connects multiple identities and realities through thematic motifs.
The Hours
An ambitious multi-era adaptation uses parallel narratives and philosophical themes to link distant lives.
The Tree of Life
Large-scale speculative storytelling combines social critique, reincarnation-like connections, and shifting identities.
Movie Details
- Directors
- Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer
- Release Date
- 2012-10-26
- Runtime
- 172 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (7701)
Cast
- Tom Hanks
- Halle Berry
- Jim Broadbent
- Hugo Weaving
- Jim Sturgess
- Bae Doona
- Ben Whishaw
- James D'Arcy
- Zhou Xun
- Keith David
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cloud Atlas about?
- Six stories scattered across centuries echo one another through rebellion, love, exploitation, and the enduring possibility of human solidarity.
- What is Cloud Atlas like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cloud Atlas as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is Cloud Atlas violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Cloud Atlas as moderate.
- What did critics think of Cloud Atlas?
- Critics broadly admired the film's ambition, performances, visual scope, and thought-provoking structure while finding its sprawling interwoven narrative unwieldy for many viewers.
- Which films are like Cloud Atlas?
- Films with a similar feel include The Fountain, The Matrix, The Hours, and The Tree of Life.
- How long is Cloud Atlas?
- Cloud Atlas runs 172 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cloud Atlas?
- In United States, Cloud Atlas streams on YouTube TV.
