Narrative technique · used in 1 film

Recurring Cast Across Eras

Casting the same actors in many roles across different times and places. Seeing familiar faces in new relationships makes the idea of souls that recur something you can watch.

Examples

Where you can see it

  1. Cloud Atlas (2012) poster

    Cloud Atlas

    Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski, Tom Tykwer · 2012

    Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and others play many roles in different eras, helped by makeup and costume. You keep recognizing faces in new relationships, which makes reincarnation something you watch.

    Where to see it: Hanks as Goose and Zachry: The same actor plays the sinister Dr. Goose in 1849 and the tribesman Zachry in 2321.

Questions

Quick answers

What is recurring cast across eras in film?
Casting the same actors in many roles across different times and places. Seeing familiar faces in new relationships makes the idea of souls that recur something you can watch.
Which films use recurring cast across eras?
Cloud Atlas (2012).
What kind of technique is recurring cast across eras?
It is a narrative technique. Related narrative techniques include Interwoven Storylines, Symbolic Object, Observational Restraint.

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