Welcome to another Double Feature Sunday!, as always, the dynamic is to compare two movies that share elements or themes that enrich the experience by watching both movies, this weekend it's up to Interstellar and Cloud Atlas. Both Nolan and the Wachoskis have explored similar themes before, many saw Inception as the new Matrix, but those are not their only works that share similar themes.
Interstellar
What is it about?
Earth is dying, and a black hole that can bring humanity to a habitable world appears, NASA brings Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) the only man able to pilot a ship through the black hole, to carry a crew find a habitable planet. Nolan's direction hasn't been as effective as it is here, and the use of practical effects helps not only to give the movie an old school scify vibe, the fact that was shot using film instead of a digital camera actually helps to enrich the whole experience. It has multiple references to works of Spielberg and Kubrick, and is an experience that is completely enjoyable on its own. Interstellar was my favorite movie of 2014, to the point I made an analysis of the movie (which you can consult in Spanish in here).
Cloud Atlas
What is it about?
This film by the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer, based on the novel by David Mitchell, is an epic that spans multiple lives and different timelines, and how they intertwine despite the thousands of years between each of the plot lines and different characters. One of this plot lines for example involves a group of seniors looking for a way out of a nursing home, a pianist looking to work with one of the most renowned musicians of his time, an android fighting for the freedom of her people in a dystopian future, and many more. With an impressive cast including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae and Ben Whishaw, present, past and future get mixed in this adventure from the creators of the Matrix saga.
Similarities
Both are visually stunning, Nolan relying more on practical effects and the Wachowskis using impressive CGI in an effective manner. But more important, both movies argue that there are forces bigger than us, whose impact transcends time and space, in Interstellar it is love the final connection between Cooper and her daughter Murph, and this is what ultimately brings them together. In Cloud Atlas we can see how the courage of one android eventually leads to a rebellion that has an impact that transcends time itself, every action has a consequence but these are not always immediate, in fact many take years, decades, centuries.
Although both are long films, they have very satisfactory endings, and although I personally prefer Christopher Nolan's film, Lana and Andy Wachowski's movie is also very good, it improves upon multiple viewings, and it is definitely a worthy recommendation.
Main Ideas
One of the main themes in Christopher Nolan's Science Fiction epic is that there are forces bigger than us that can transcend time and space, like force of gravity which serves to send a crucial message near the ending of the movie, it also states how feelings such as love can travel through time and space. It is a film that exemplifies the theory of relativity like no other, and due to some circumstances the plot has different timelines. But mostly it is about forces that transcend time and space, it is about the pioneering soul and explorer spirit of man. Due to a food shortage in the world of Cooper, people have largely returned to agriculture, but Cooper wants to return to the era of bold exploration, it is also about fighting to the end, to never give up, as demonstrated multiple times by the poem recited by Professor Brand Dylan Thomas's Do not go gentle into that good night.
On the other hand, and as I mentioned above, in Cloud Atlas there are different timelines, but without doubt, and like in Interstellar, it is mainly about larger forces than us that affect us some way or the other, like in Interstellar acts of love, hate, and compassion transcend time and have lasting consequences some of which can only been seen thousands of years late. It is also a story of reincarnation, with several actors playing different characters throughout the different timelines.
It's an incredibly ambitious film and some stories are better than others, but most of the time Cloud Atlas is successful, in both its themes and execution, although not initially as captivating as The Matrix the Wachowskis and company manage to build an epic movie, with a lot of heart, one can see that they care about these themes, in fact it shares many of the main ideas of their Netflix series Sense8 (another story of interconnected lives through space). Finally it is a good versus evil story, the latter often being a character played by Hugo Weaving, but we can see how simple acts of love or compassion can transcend life and affect others in a significant manner.
Ultimately, both movies deal with the same ideas, because of our nature, whether we like it or not, our actions have an impact on the lives of others, and by seeing both films we can experience how being kind with the person next to us can be, at the end of the day, just as important as saving the world.
Credits
Interstellar
Original Title: Interstellar.
Direction: Christopher Nolan.
Screenplay: Jonathan and Christopher Nolan.
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain.
Year: 2014.
Cloud Atlas
Original Title: Cloud Atlas.
Direction: Andy and Lana Wachowski, Tom Tikwer.
Screenplay: Andy and Lana Wachowski, Tom Tikwer.
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, and Ben Whishaw.
Year: 2012.
What are your thoughts on this movies? Which one do you prefer? Make some noise in the comments section!
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