Cloud Atlas

TOM TYKWER was born in 1965 in Wuppertal. “Peter Pan” was probably the first film he saw, and he says that the youthful fantasy of creating a magical parallel world remains an inspiration to this day. The dreamy, childlike sense of wonder in “Peter Pan” fascinated him, as did Vittorio de Sica’s “Miracle in Milan”. Another important cinematic experience was seeing “King Kong” – nine-year-old Tykwer realized that cinema was artificial, man-made. This particular film marked the start of his fondness for the horror genre. Tykwer also names James Whales’ “Bride of Frankenstein”, "Miracle in Milan” and John Carpenter’s “Halloween” as some other early discoveries. From this point on Tykwer’s adolescence revolved round his passion for the cinema. To get greater access to films he helped out in an art-house cinema, which also allowed him to circumvent age restrictions.

Tykwer started making Super 8 films at the age of eleven, a purely fan-driven exercise in which he essentially rehashed his favourite films and – as he readily admits – bored his long-suffering circle of friends stiff. Nevertheless, he continued to work on similar projects all through school. He was much impressed by a visit to Berlin, an apparent film paradise. Every night literally dozens of film classics were on offer. After graduating from school and numerous unsuccessful applications to just about every film school in Europe, he moved to Berlin and worked there as a projectionist. In 1987 he became the programmer at the ambitious ‘Moviemento’ cinema, and even at that young age was a highly respected film buff and contact point for German directors. At the same time he was analysing screenplays for the story department and interviewed many of his cinematic idols for TV profiles.

The desire to make his own films didn’t really take firm shape until he met and became friends with filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim, who vigorously purged his fixations with genre, urging him instead to come up with stories born of his own experience. For example, he suggested Tykwer record arguments with his girlfriend of the time and – in exaggerated form – turn it into a short film. BECAUSE (1990) was screened at the Hof Film Festival, which at that time was for Tykwer a veritable mecca of film culture. BECAUSE was greeted by the public with laughter and sympathetic identification, a totally unexpected reaction that turned out to be a watershed experience for the young director. To communicate intense personal truths, but at the same time challenge with formal experimentation – that was he now envisaged as the way forward. Another short film, EPILOG (1992) plunged Tykwer into personal financial debt, but allowed he and his cameraman partner Frank Griebe to gain important technical experience.

In Hof in 1990 he met Stefan Arndt, who also ran a cinema in Berlin. Their idea of doing something in tandem finally came to fruition when the producers of “Kleines Fernsehspiel” at German public broadcaster, ZDF, gave Tykwer the go-ahead to shoot his screenplay DEADLY MARIA, his first feature film. Here the horror film influences of his youth are very evident, but it then evolves into a love melodrama. The unusual story and extravagant, streamlined visual shaping of the film created a stir in the industry, highly unusual for a television drama, and enabled a – modest – cinematic release. Although audiences were far from large, dozens of film festivals around the world were now aware of Tykwer’s talent. The film was screened at over a hundred festivals and even in cinemas in some countries, such as Spain, Holland, Sweden, Norway and Brazil. Viewer reaction to the first German television broadcast was impassioned, confirming the impact – both disturbing and moving – that DEADLY MARIA had had at festivals.

Together with Stefan Arndt, Wolfgang Becker and Dani Levy, Tykwer founded production company ‘X Filme Creative Pool’ in 1994. It was to be a filmmaker collective that gave maximum creative control over their productions, yet still guaranteed a certain amount of structure and financial security. Together with Wolfgang Becker Tykwer wrote the screenplay for LIFE IS ALL YOU GET, while at the same time working on his second cinema feature WINTER SLEEPERS (1996/97). This ensemble film is clearly a bigger and far more complex production than DEADLY MARIA. The shooting in the mountains of Berchtesgaden was the first really big challenge for Tykwer and the new company. The hypnotic qualities of the film, already typical of Tykwer, brought the young director to the attention of the thinking members of the young German cinema-going public. The film itself became an insider tip at festivals. —www.tomtykwer.com

The younger half of the writing-directing-producing team The Wachowski Brothers, Andy Wachowski dropped out of Emerson College in Boston to pursue a career in show business. Collaborating with his older brother Larry, the duo completed their first script which was optioned by producer Dino De Laurentiis and eventually became the Warner Bros. feature “Assassins” (1995). Another writer polished the script, so the finished product, starring Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas as hit men, veered between generic actioner and character study and ended up a box-office disappointment.

The Wachowskis chose a chancy project for their directorial debut, “Bound” (1996), a romance-thriller featuring Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon as criminal lesbians in love. Drawing on influences as varied as Billy Wilder (“Double Indemnity” 1944), Roman Polanski (“Chinatown” 1974) and Sam Raimi (“The Evil Dead” 1983), the brothers set out to create a modern film noir that would invert the genre. With its elaborately stylish camerawork and intriguing story, “Bound” fell into the category of work that one either loved or hated. Receiving generally appreciative reviews, it found a limited, but appreciative audience.

On the other hand, “The Matrix” (1999), the proposed first in a trilogy of futuristic spectaculars that borrowed heavily from such diverse sources as the Bible, “Alice in Wonderland”, Hong Kong action flicks and mythology, proved a popular success. Over a period of more than five years, the brothers developed the story for this comic book come to life, penning 14 drafts and overseeing the design of some 500 storyboards. The arduous shoot required the actors (including Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving and Carrie-Anne Moss) to undergo extensive physical conditioning so the film’s innovative, special effects-driven set pieces would have a unique visual flair. The meticulous planning paid off as the film opened at Number One and quickly grossed over $100 million, virtually assuring that the other parts of the trilogy would be successes. After nearly a four-year wait, “Matrix Reloaded” (2003), the second installment, hit theaters. —tcm