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118 of 148 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe Not The Significant Document Of Our Time It Hopes To Be--But Riveting Drama Nonetheless, December 9, 2006
"Babel" is the latest narratively and chronologically twisted epic from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. This is getting to be a specialty of his. He weaves different plots and characters together in unlikely ways hoping to surprise and enhance the dramatic affect of his storytelling. It brought him wide acclaim for his breakthrough "Amores Perros" a funny and thrilling ride for man and dog! The device was a bit more unnecessary in "21 Grams"--but that smaller film ended up being my choice for the best acted film of its year. But now he takes his skill and technical prowess to his biggest canvas yet.
"Babel" is set in Morocco, Mexico, Japan and the United States. We follow the interlocking stories of a Moroccan farming family, a couple of American tourists, a disaffected and deaf/mute Japanese schoolgirl, and a Mexican maid and her two American charges. One bullet brings all the stories together. As one of the tourists, Cate Blanchett, is accidentally shot--the repercussions are felt around the world.
This is an ambitious picture, and I do believe the narrative framing and structure enhance the overall experience. From a technical standpoint, there is not much more you could ask for--this is an awesome achievement. From editing, score, screenplay, cinematography and art direction--"Babel" is propelled to the short list of great studio films this year. The acting is uniformly excellent. Brad Pitt as Blanchett's husband and Rinku Kikuchi as the Japanese girl have been singled out repeatedly (and are likely Oscar contenders), but everyone here is in top form. This is heavy drama, and I can understand why that scares some people away--but the payoff is worth it. It is harrowing and unpleasant at times, but riveting and emotional throughout.
"Babel" is clearly a film made with serious intentions--and I'm not entirely sure it's as successful as it hopes to be. The philosophical implications, the biblical allegory, the effort to document the state of the world, the examination of a disaffected society, the randomness of the universal ties that bind, and the commentary at the lack of communication and understanding in the world--it's all here! There are certainly individual moments within "Babel" that will strike a chord, and it's definitely an intelligently made film, I just don't necessarily think that it is as "significant" as some make it out to be. I admire that it tries to deliver a social commentary without being "preachy"--but it moves perilously close at several times (times where 2 seconds of rational thought and explanation could have resolved something--but people were more villainous than understanding). Ultimately, though, I must embrace "Babel" as great adult filmmaking and powerful drama. About 4 1/2 stars from me--I'm rounding up for the sheer scope and ambition present. KGHarris, 12/06.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Multi-Cultural Allegory for Man's Inability to Communicate, May 22, 2007
I have to start by saying how desperately hard I found this film to review. It's so complex, has so much to say, and works on so many levels. At the same time, it's not an easy film. It's apparent reading the reviews how much trouble people have had with this film - for any number of reasons. Perhaps they felt it a bit long, and didn't care about what was being said. Perhaps they couldn't relate to the actions and choices the characters made, and didn't sympathize or empathize with them. Or perhaps the film's unusual structure left them a bit cold and disconnected. Whatever the reason, the 3.5 star current rating reflects the majority's inability to really "connect" with this film.
For those who don't know, Babel tells 4 different revolving stories across 4 countries (USA, Mexico, Morocco, Japan), and how the actions of one effected all of the others. On another level, the Biblical story of Babel was a story of how man tried to build a tower to God. In doing so they were struck down and punished by speaking different languages - rendering their ability to communicate null. Babel takes this idea of man's inability to communicate and creates a film that expresses this idea on a multitude of levels. Whether it's through race and discrimination, cultural differences, handicaps, or through personal anger and estrangement.
I also find it very interesting that the over-arching idea of communication is told in a backwards but interlocking fashion through the 4 storylines. Starting from the last to enter to the first what we see is: Man's desperate, primal need to communicate with others. This basic idea is rendered in a heartfelt, poignant manner through Rinko Kikuchi's performance of a deaf teenager, and reiterated in many scenes. The separation and isolation from others is driven home through the dance club sequence, and Rinko's sobering exit. The next stage is man forming bonds with others. This is told through the relationship of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. This single stage of communication is on the intimate, personal level with another person.
Moving from this we get to a larger stage, in man creating societal groups, and forming barriers to separate from other society groups. This point is driven home by the Mexico/America border scene. This creation of barriers and walls is one that's inevitable as large groups start to form. And it's through this that discrimination is born. The final stage is how man causes harm to others because of these barriers. It's ironic, or perhaps appropriate that this violence is expressed through the actions of children. What better way to show how discrimination caused by separation caused by lack of communication can effect not only ourselves but future generations?
It has been noted many times that the cinematic merits of this film are impeccable, and nearly impossible to dispute. Editing, cinematography, score, sound, etc. are all handled with a true level of directorial mastery. The acting is equally superb. The two "big names" of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett turn in terrific and (surprisingly) understated performances. They're not given alot to work with, but they bring a level of depth to roles that could've been extremely hollow. But Rinko Kikuchi, as the Japanese teenager deserves extreme praise for her handling of a particularly difficult role. The demands on her in this film are higher than any one else. Throughout all of her scenes she runs the gamut of emotions, and she handles them with a level of genuine emotion and a delicate touch. Even in a film with great all-around performances, she steals the show. Adriana Barraza as the Mexican nanny is almost equally as good as Rinko. Finally, Mustapha Rachidi as the Moroccan farmer is only of lesser note in light of the other extraordinary performances, but is excellent as well.
I find the two storylines of the Moroccan farmer and his family, and the Mexican nanny are the two most difficult. I say this because of the 4 storylines, these were the only two that ended up in the situations they did because of bad decisions. But is it so simple? In the case of the Moroccan farmer and his children, they end up in the situation because of the children being forced to grow up so fast. This is expressed in multiply ways throughout the storyline. Is the reason they end up where they do due to stupidity or just immaturity? In the case of the Mexican nanny, she makes one seemingly harmless decision to take the children she's watching to a marriage in Mexico. But on the way back a series of horrendous events leaves her and the children struggling for their lives in the desert. The scene where things break down at the border is one of the films key moments regarding communication.
It could be the cultural divide. It could be the odd, interlocking narrative. Whatever it may be, Babel is just not going to be a film that's a huge hit here in the USA. It's interesting that this film is about man's inability to communicate, and Americans are particularly bad in that we're too wrapped up in our own culture. If we don't understand it, we don't like it. It really says something that this film has been a huge hit throughout the world, but grossed relatively little here. Films like Crash, Syriana, and the like have garnered much more attention, yet Babel has out-grossed them both world-wide, but not here. Overall I think it will be left up to the individual in terms of how much they get out of this film. If you're willing to look deeper and try to understand each individual story within its context and what's being said, this is a film that will likely really hit home with you. Its resounding statement is how we should really stop and take the time to listen to one another and then go the extra mile to not just listen, but really understand one another.
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84 of 113 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Butterfly Wings, November 14, 2006
Chapter 11 of Genesis tells a story of mankind's attempt to reach heaven by building a tower, not as a way to glorify God but as a way for mankind to glorify themselves by putting them on God's level. God strikes the plan down by confusing/creating different languages so that the builders cannot understand each other thereby suspending communication. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu, along with his screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga's take on this material is "Babel" their third and most ambitiously produced film with locales in Morocco, Japan, San Diego and Mexico and like the Bible story, Iñárritu is once again dealing with communication or lack thereof: how we talk and either no one listens or more to the point...doesn't understand. Simple themes told exceedingly well here.
In the best sequence, shot in Japan a deaf mute girl, Chieko (Rinko Cucuchi), desperate for attention and contact other than she can get from her pals, tells (actually signs) to her father (a sad sack Koji Yakusho from "Shall We Dance?"): "You Never Listen to Me!" Ironic on at least a couple of levels. Chieko is reeling from the normal drama of being a teen as well as the not so normal drama of having found her Mother dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She is also dealing with a father who is also devastated and unable to comfort himself much less his daughter. They live in a glacial glass high-rise box in Tokyo: a symbol of the icy coldness of the lives that they live within.
The two other parts of the film deal with the stars (a very good Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) in Morocco on vacation (!?) and a supposed terrorist attack and the third, a very real and scary sequence involving the Pitt/Blanchett children and their caretaker, Amelia (a terrific Adriana Barraza) and their harrowing journey into Baja California.
Every one of Iñárritu's films ("Amores Perros," "21 Grams" and "Babel") contain at least one gut-wrenching, emotional and transcendentally beautiful scene: the dog fight in "Amores Perros," the Naomi Watts scene with Sean Penn in which she explains how it is to lose a family in a random accident in "21 Grams" and here in Babel: Chieko at a Shinto dance club, the soundtrack stopping and starting to approximate Chieko's experience, Chieko: wide-eyed, wide-eyed, mouth agape...experiencing a world in which feeling and touching is paramount and hearing isn't.
Though Iñárritu and Arriaga stretch the "if a butterfly flutters its wings in Hawaii, etc." metaphor to the breaking point, there is no doubt that
"Babel" has got the goods where it counts: deep in the recesses of its soul and heart.
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