May 24, 2013 Cloud Atlas
“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” says Somni-451 in the movie Cloud Atlas. I watched the DVD on Thursday. The film came out in 2012 and stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Grant among many others. It was directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski, who also did The Matrix. The movie is based on the book by David Mitchell, which came out in 2004. The plot revolves around 6 interwoven stories: The South Pacific in 1849, England in 1936, San Francisco in 1973, The UK in 2012 and Neo Seoul in 2144. The Big Island Story takes place 106 winters after the fall in 2321. In the movie each actor plays several roles, as the stories are about reincarnation. I loved how the seemingly unrelated times and people were really all a part of one larger overarching plot. And I love the theme of eternal love. As Luisa Rey says, it is frustrating to make the same mistakes over and over again though.
I found the movie moving and thought provoking. Many critics were confused and thought it messy though. It made me think about my own past lives.
Over the years I’ve meditated and worked on remembering the lives I might have lived before. Thus far this is what I’ve come up with:
BC Lemuria: Psychic Map Maker
336 BC Greece: Oracle of Delphi
30 BC Egypt: Priest
BC to AD The Qu’amran Sect
500s Celtic Druid
930 Welsh Lady
1000 Moorish Spain: Casilda
1185 Japanese Nara Period: Wife of Samurai
1220 Whirling Dervish
1300 Pre-Columbian Florida
1558-1580 Germany: Farmer’s Wife: Ana Bernard
1600 Colonial Peru: Incan Man
1780 Spanish/English Pirate: James Perez
1840-1888 Boston Massachusetts: Educated Woman and Wife
1890-1920 Russian Peasant: Gypsy
1924-1940 England During WWII: Amanda
