Cloud Atlas (2012)

★ 6.9 2h 52m 7,464 votes IMDb

A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.

Cloud Atlas

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Cast

Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks as Dr. Henry Goose / Hotel Manager / Isaac Sachs / Dermot Hoggins / Cavendish Look-a-Like Actor / Zachry Age 69 · Concord, California, USA Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, Hanks is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and...
Halle Berry
Halle Berry as Native Woman / Jocasta Ayrs / Luisa Rey / Indian Party Guest / Ovid / Meronym Age 59 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA Halle Maria Berry (/ˈhæli/ HAL-ee; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, becoming Miss Ohio in 1986, fin...
Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent as Captain Molyneux / Vyvyan Ayrs / Timothy Cavendish / Korean Musician / Prescient 2 Age 76 · Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England, UK Jim Broadbent (born May 24, 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film Iris (2001), as well as winning a BAF...
Hugo Weaving
Hugo Weaving as Haskell Moore / Tadeusz Kesselring / Bill Smoke / Nurse Noakes / Boardman Mephi / Old Georgie Age 66 · Ibadan, British Nigeria Hugo Wallace Weaving AO (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six Aus...
Jim Sturgess
Jim Sturgess as Adam Ewing / Poor Hotel Guest / Megan's Dad / Highlander / Hae-Joo Chang / Adam / Zachry Brother-in-Law Age 47 · Wandsworth, London, England, UK James Anthony Sturgess (born 16 May 1978) is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His first major role was as Jude in the musical romance drama film Across the Universe (2007). In 2008, he played t...

Audience Reviews

Andres Gomez 7/10 May 13, 2013
Interesting film with an exceptional cast, fantastic performances and characterizations. The story, though, is a bit difficult to follow and, in the end, seems to not have a real point.
Travis Bell 7.5/10 Aug 13, 2013
Cloud Atlas was a very well made movie but unlike a lot of movies that try to tell simultaneous stories and then have them come together at the end, this one just didn't for me. I'm still unclear as to the point of it all.

Another issue I had was a general feeling of goofiness. Sure, the Cavendish story was pure comedy but the rest of the stories just didn't feel serious enough to me.

It carried my attention for the 172 minutes well enough and it was entertaining, I just expected more of a pay off at the end.

All in all, it's definitely worth seeing but I still haven't made up my mind if I truly liked it or not. What did you think?
Vlad Mihalca 6/10 Jan 13, 2022
A not-easy-to-follow film, we are presented with sub-plots from several times and places, both past and future - in which the same characters seem to be involved.

An interesting idea, good images but yu need to have a particular taste in movies in order to fully enjoy Cloud Atlas. I feel that the average audience may not be heavily impressed with they way it conveys its message - by going from one timeline to another and slowly building up all these sub-plots in parallel.
Torsten Rüger 9/10 Aug 23, 2025
The true legacy of the Wachowskis, so close to pulling off the impossible that it is not wholly understandable in one viewing.

The central theme is the idea of karma. Actions affecting our lives, not just in this life but through several incarnations. Thrown in is the idea of connectedness, no one really being independent but connected and dependant on others.
The format through which these themes are worked are i believe 6 different times over three centuries. The same actors are used in their "same" roles in different time lines to give this understanding of "same" person ie reincarnation, the idea of a continuous soul.

While this same actor trick works, ie helps us in understanding the roles, the immutable characters, each story is cut up and interwoven with the others. Thus the film follows six stories unfolding in parallel, all working the same themes, following similar arches. As i said in the beginning, it is trying the almost impossible, and it is very difficult to follow in the first 2-3 sittings (i'm beyond ten). But i would really encourage you to put in the time, because in the end it does work and the film achieves it's objective of carrying ideas that are at the edge of what can be expressed in words (try explaining karma to anyone who hasn't heard about it, if you doubt)

In the end i think this is the true legacy of the Wachowskis. Matrix was off course fun, but to be honest the idea of living in a simulation world was just new, the delivery exiting, but eventually hot air. As an idea it really is not very solid and the Movie quite understandably does not work beyond the first, where "enlightenment" is achieved, and who can go beyond that in this mortal sphere.
The idea of karma on the other hand is as good a one as humans every had and tried to put into words. It is of the keys to human existence and here worked in a very watch-able package.

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