Many of the ancient Greek philosophers believed the circle was the most perfect form that existed. This notion did a great deal to inform their views on the universe, and has come down to us through any number of traditions. Even after the death of the idea of a perfectly circular universe died at the hands of Copernicus, Galileo, and others, the circle remains a potent symbol. Two recent films, Cloud Atlas and Samsara, explore the presence and potency of the circle in modern life.
The story behind Cloud Atlas’s creation is almost as interesting as the movie itself. It’s based on a 2004 novel by David Mitchell that drew a great deal of critical acclaim. Yet it was also considered unfilmable, mainly because it has an unusual narrative structure that weaves together six distinct but somewhat interconnected stories that span centuries. In the end, the Wachowskis (directors of the Matrix trilogy) and Tom Twyker (Run Lola, Run) pretty much had to make the movie outside of the studio system and then pitch it as a Tom Hanks redemption story to get it distributed*. Oh, and one of the Wachowskis had a sex change operation somewhere in there.
*It isn’t.
That said, the movie attempts something grand and innovative, and generally succeeds. The directors tie the six distinct storylines together in a way that reaffirms the basic themes of Mitchell’s novel, and in some places illustrates them better. Each major actor plays different roles throughout the ages, even crossing racial and gender lines, which does a great deal to hammer home one of the themes, that our lives are bound up in one another’s, and that we will cross and recross each other’s paths throughout endless transits of the planet.
That said, the movie stands out because it is a unique spectacle in an era of focus-grouped and carefully managed “blockbusters.” It is the kind of complex, challenging, and uncompromising film that almost never gets made these days, providing little more than a few title cards and a smidgen of exposition to ground us in each time period. At various times it is visually stunning, emotionally compelling, and morally challenging, and for that reason alone it’s worth going to see. Plus, there’s Hugo Weaving in drag!
Samsara is another visual spectacle, and in some ways an even more incredible achievement than Cloud Atlas. The spiritual successor to 1992’s Baraka, it consists of footage from all over the globe, of everything from sulfur mining in Indonesia, to pilgrims at Mecca, to the caves of Petra, and dozen more sights. The title is the Sanskrit word for the fiery circle of life, the idea of endless death and rebirth, and that concept is explored through many different avenues.
At various times the footage is breathtakingly beautiful, heartbreakingly tragic, revolting, frightening, uplifting, confusing, and entrancing. Utterly without dialogue or narration, it’s solely tied together by a brilliant and stirring score which is extremely well-matched to the imagery. In the end, Samsara could serve as a fitting eulogy for the human race, encompassing some of our greatest triumphs — the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building — and our greatest failings — massive trash dumps in the Philippines — in one remarkable film.
(Image cc-licensed: "Circle of Life, Am Indian Museum" by MyEyeSees)
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