Cloud Atlas, the remarkable book by David Michell and cinematic gift from Lana and Andy Wachowski (creators of The Matrix), didn’t last long in the cinema, the ideas it raises will carry it on. This post from Ekostories highlights important themes, including Change Through Connection, Music and Storytelling, and the Unpredictable Power of Stories. Even if you have no interest in the film, please have a read, because the story of stories within the project are rich and beautiful.
“Our lives are not our own.
From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”
Thus sums up the core premise of Cloud Atlas, one of the more polarizing movies in recent memory and my personal favourite film for 2012. Spanning six stories over five centuries, many people found the movie slow, jarring, and difficult to follow. While I understand and accept some of these criticisms, they in no way diminish the sheer vision and ambition of this sprawling and profoundly human epic. If there ever was a film where the sum experience becomes more than its parts, Cloud Atlas is it.
Art, Spirit, Nature 
The connections that interweave across time and space suggest the merit of being irrespective of all else, well-anchored in oneself. This enables the best traveling and meeting of all and sundry places and faces. I look forward to seeing this tale.