Toronto Gets a Look at Cloud Atlas

September 8, 2012, 11:53 pm

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

TORONTO - How to describe “Cloud Atlas”? Picture “Brazil” meets “The Matrix” meets “The English Patient” meets “Forrest Gump,” with a little bit of “The Hobbit,” which we still haven't seen, thrown in.

You will have to decide for yourself whether it works. It's that kind of picture.

But the crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival, where “Cloud Atlas” had its world premiere on Saturday night, was filled with believers.

The standing ovation went on and on and on. Granted, the audience at the Princess of Wales theater was heavily larded with friends of the family. The three directors - Tom Tykwer and Andy and Lana Wachowski - were on hand, along with at lea st 17 cast members, including Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, the two of whom account for a dozen roles.

But enthusiasm of this sort can't be faked. As the credits rolled, perhaps 700 people on the theater's ground floor (we couldn't see the balcony crowd) rose and applauded, as the minutes and myriad credits rolled by. Eventually, they formed surrounding the filmmakers. After a pause, the applause picked up again, and got loud, as Ms. Wachowski, with a shock of fire-engine red hair, hugged and kissed anyone in sight.

Is this the stuff of Oscars? Who knows?

Is it a force to be reckoned with in the coming months? Absolutely.

Based on a novel by David Mitchell, “Cloud Atlas” criss-crosses through time, multiple stories and a wild mélange of personalities in an epic exploration of human existence. As they left the theater, what movie industry veterans like to call “civilians”-i.e., people not in the industry-could be heard sorting out film references and who was actually who in the movie.

Before the movie  started, the  directors gathered onstage for what proved to be an antic performance. Mr. Tykwer, in the middle, played the straight man. Mr. Wachowski, on one side, took photos from the stage and was clearly having a good time. “Behold!” was his suggested introduction for the picture, which cost $100 million and has been in the works for years.

Ms. Wachowski speculated about whether it was brilliance or “stupidness” that moved producers to support the film.

Either way, “Cloud Atlas” it made some noise on Saturday night.