To borrow Churchill's description of Russia, "it is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." It fascinates in the moment. It's getting from one moment to the next that is tricky.

Surely this is one of the most ambitious films ever made. The little world of film criticism has been alive with interpretations of it, which propose to explain something that lies outside explanation. Any explanation of a work of art must be found in it, not taken to it. As a film teacher, I was always being told by students that a film by David Lynch, say, or Warner Herzog, was "a retelling of the life of Christ, say, or 'Moby Dick.' " My standard reply was: Maybe it's simply the telling of itself.

//

Wow. That's profound. "Any explanation of a work must be found in it, not taken to it..."

Still finding the connections.

1. Guy in 1800s writes diary read by...

2. Guy in 1936 who composes music heard by...

3. Woman in 1973 who talks to a kid who submits a manuscript read by...

4. Editor in 2012 who writes a screenplay seen by...

5. Clone woman in 2136 who broadcasts a revolutionary message seen by...

6. 24th century Halle Berry and Tom Hanks who send a beacon for help to the heavens.

It's like a message in a bottle through time.

1.5.6. all go to the same island (filming, not sure if it's in "reality.")

#3 talks about "throwing you off a balcony," and in #4 Hanks throws a man off a balcony.

#1 Tom Hanks finds a marble on Doctor's vest, in #2 takes his vest, and #6 puts his small marble in the bag in the exact same way as in #1.

#1 and #6 the indigenous folks have similar tattoos to the slaves.

#1 and #6 pidgin english slave talk is similar to the indigenous folks slave talk.

#5 and #6 sonmi broadcasts from the same place where hanks/berry go to in #6 to send a message to the "outer colonies."

#1 and #6 end the way they begin.

#2 composer dreams of cafe in #5.

#1 guy/girl are lovers in #1 and #5.

Each person represents an emotion/characteristic.

Sonmi is rebellion throughout different stories (the latina woman in #3, sonmi in #5, #1 slave owner's daughter's wife)

Hugo Weaver is repression.

Et. al

This is just some of the thoughts I can think of in 5 minutes thinking about it. There are, undoubtedly, many, many more.

And of course, the cloud atlas sextet is played throughout the movie in different keys, instruments, and speeds.

Wow, that's a ton of connections.

What's the significance of the number 6?

In TV show LOST, there were six seasons; 6 mirrored 1, 5 mirrored 2, 4 mirrored 3.

In TV show Community, the episode on Remedial Chaos Theory had six timelines...

Seems like I'd really enjoy Lost.

You really would -- they take the time to fully develop characters over 108+ episodes.

The story leads to something unexpected that is unsatisfying (many unanswered questions) yet makes you think hard, and it's the latter that makes it all worthwhile.

Before the past year, had never been a TV watcher so missed out on some good series apparently. Any others in the 90s or 2000s that are must-watch/thinkers?

LOST has the best mythology, followed by Fringe and X Files.

Mad Men is the best show, followed by Game of Thrones, Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, Dexter, True Blood, and Sopranos.

Currently airing best shows are Walking Dead, American Horror Story, and Revolution.

If you're looking for reality, there's none better than Survivor and Shark Tank.

And for pure entertainment, we're talking Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, GLEE, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Happy Endings.

Man that's a lotta shows. :)

Great list; time to get started!