A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.
This movie contains 45 potentially triggering events.
The clone waitresses are sexually harassed by customers and one is sexually abused by their boss. A female journalist character is leered at by a male CEO and he makes gross comments about her looks
I’m not sure where else to put this but several white actors are put in Asian “yellowface” prosthetics/makeup, it’s awful. Also an Asian actress wears brownface to play a Mexican character and speaks very poor Spanish in a stereotypical way. It’s this movie’s worst quality imo.
Essentially yes. Discovered and blackmailed by someone who gloats about how horrible the outing will be. Ultimately this ends up driving the character to suicide.
SPOILERS Someone is told to have a certain disease while in reality they are being poisoned by the doctor character. In the Seoul line, the clones are told they are being set free when they are killed and 'recycled'. There are a lot of other scenes too involving lying and deception but mostly minor ones.
A guy drinks soap" (not an existent drug outside de movie) as an addiction, then dies from it. However, this is not too relevant to the plot and it's not too discussed.
A man is addicted to a liquid substance that makes him high but also puts people to sleep. He dies by overdosing on it. There's also a little bit of alcohol drinking and smoking in it, but addiction is not really a theme there.
Someone is thrown from the top of a building and dies. Someone else falls from like skyscraper level, but later turns out to be okay. There are some other vertigo-inducing scenes where falling is a real possibility.
There are 2 startling moments. The first at around 37:00 when Halle Berry notices Tom Hanks looking at her. The second at around 52:00 when Halle Berry almost falls down a bridge.
A woman is possessed briefly while another character is trying to figure out what his dream meant. The possession lasts for about 15 seconds but is not graphic.
A person writes a letter to their lover before killing themself. In it, they say, "I believe we do not stay dead long. Find me beneath the Corsican stars where we first kissed."
A man and a woman get stuck in an old elevator that stops working because of an electricity problem. They don't get hurt. It's not too hard, there's no panic and they get out after a while without any injuries/troubles.
Because of the movie's nature, we come back to the suicide scene over and over again. There is also a goodbye letter and you can see the corpse. It's pretty tough.
Scenes with lightning are a no-go. A sequence in which Halle Berry's character starts up a computer (after using the screens) features flashing lights - it lasts about ten seconds, then cuts away, and cuts back for another 5 seconds.
Two scenes which take place during a gun battle also feature flashing lights (including on the face of a character who is overlooking the battle)
Yes, six specifically, all in the 1846 story. For each one, here's some context and preceding dialogue to watch for. I've also removed the immediately surrounding words so that you won't have to hear the exact quote in your head.
******(FIRST is Atua paraphrasing racist behavior) "No! They no listen I!" ******(SECOND is the 1846 ship captain wanting to kill Atua) "No one tells me what I can't do on my ship..." ******(THIRD is the fake doctor falsely telling Atua that his white friend is racist) "You probably infected him! He begged me to please, and I quote, ..." ******(FOURTH is the fake doctor addressing Atua while trying to kill him) Atua has just told his friend to run. The fake doctor smiles with blood on his teeth. ******(FIFTH is the 1846 father-in-law making a racist tirade) "Listen to me! There is a natural order....If you try to tell people that..." ******(SIXTH is said by the same person just a few words later)
Yes and one scene in particular is extremely over the top in tension and tragedy. (SPOILERS) One of the six protagonists, a bisexual man, shoots himself. His lover is murdered several decades later in order to silence his investigation of a corporate cover up.
Black characters are put in danger, and villains attempt to kill them, but they survive. One of the villains in particular is extremely racist about wanting to kill the Black character.
One storyline takes place on a boat and in another one a tunnel gets flooded in a city, but noone even goes underwater. In another scene a woman crashes into water with her car but she manages to escape and is unharmed.
Quite a bit of it, actually. People are shot, one of them is a suicide, people's necks are slit, there is face mutilation, stabbings, two people's heads are smashed in.