Watch this. It’s the trailer to what may well be the most ambitious film ever made.
Cloud Atlas is based on David Mitchell’s 2004 novel of the same name. It consists of six nested stories that take you from the remote South Pacific in the nineteenth century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future.
No ad to show here.
The official synopsis for the film meanwhile calls it “an epic story of humankind in which the actions and consequences of our lives impact one another throughout the past, present and future as one soul is shaped from a murderer into a savior and a single act of kindness ripples out for centuries to inspire a revolution”.
The film is directed by Tom Tykwer and The Wachowskis (of The Matrix fame) and has a stellar cast including Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Tom Hanks and Jim Broadbent.
The trailer is generating serious online buzz too, becoming a globally trending topic on Twitter:
Most of the reaction was positive:
The trailer for Cloud Atlas just made me go all goosebumpily.Please let the finished film be as good.
— Gary (@GaryTomWilliams) July 26, 2012
Cloud Atlas 5 min trailer. Wow. I watched and did not blink once til the end. Via @firstshowing onfs.net/O0c8sS
— Sascha Dikiciyan (@sonicmayhem) July 26, 2012
The most ambitious movie of the year? 1st glimpse at trailer for David Mitchell’s ‘Cloud Atlas’ dlvr.it/1vqjnn
— jonny geller (@jonnygeller) July 26, 2012
Others were sceptical:
whoa whoa whoa cloud atlas isn’t 7 hrs long?? how can you put all the stories in only 2:40 hrs okay now I’m back to being skeptical.
— WHRauf (@WHRauf) July 26, 2012
CLOUD ATLAS trailer. Looks like it has completely nailed the novel, which isn’t as profound as it likes to think it is. joblo.com/video/player.p…
— Anne Billson (@AnneBillson) July 26, 2012
The trailer, along with an extended commentary from the three directors is now available on the Apple trailer site.