Today's theme for A Snap, A Set and A Song is Book,
and this week I am reading Cloud Atlas, which is utterly brilliant!
But let me go back a bit...
Last Friday night we watched the film Cloud Atlas. It was very odd and complicated, flicking between six different stories from different time periods, from the 1850s to the 2300s. Within half an hour my boys had gone off to do other things, but I was determined to see how all the stories were going to connect, and find resolution. Well, after three hours of watching ~(and numerous glances at the film plot at Wikipedia to be clear about what was actually happening, lol!) I worked out what it was all about, and realised I LOVED this film.
There were obvious faults in the make-up department, namely the "yellow-face" makeup they used on certain actors to make them look more Asian, and some of the prosthetic noses and fat suits which also did not have the desired effect. However, the theme of oppression, within the movie, was very powerful, and the layering of actors in multiple roles was clever in theory, (to show the evolution of souls through successive lives), if not completely in practice (because of the makeup).
Each story had its own quirky characters which were superbly portrayed by well-known actors including Jim Broadbent, Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Halle Berry, Ben Whishaw and James D'Arcy. Sometimes it was a bit like a game of Spot the Actor!
Check out these pics of Tom Hanks in character:
But the standout story for me, with its romance, aesthetic, profound message, and high-tech vision of a dystopian future, was the story of Sonmi~451, played by the amazing Doona Bae.
So my Snap, Set and Song is focused on this story from Cloud Atlas.
My Snap is a pic of Sonmi~451 and Hae Joo Chang, who, as part of the Rebellion, attempts to save Sonmi from her fate as a clone. I love the colours, determination in his face, and the contrast of the floral print with the sharp lines of the city in this shot. (Oh, and also Jim Sturgess' hipbone, lol!)
My Set is a portrait of Sonmi's stark beauty,
and the computer-generated interior of her apartment with its views of Neo-Seoul
(although this is actually a picture of Tokyo - artistic licence!)
