Babel
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Movie Reviews of Babel
Movie Review: BABEL: A Look at Priorities in the Global Village
Summary: 5 Stars
From its outset, just the title of "Babel" makes it clear that the fatally flawed quality of communication in the modern world ranks high among the primary concerns of the film's director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and writer Guillermo Arriaga. Despite the fact that we live in a world where we enjoy boasting about daily advances in technology, "Babel" illustrates superbly--via three intertwining stories set in four different countries--that when it comes to the simpler art of hearing, respecting, and exercising compassion for each other, human beings seem dedicated to moving backwards.
The movie takes a close painful look at the barriers we maintain between ourselves; and, it identifies some of the consequences of refusing to sidestep such barriers long enough to see each other as human beings rather than as racial, cultural, or political categories. The international ensemble comprising the cast of Babel is never anything less than flawless. Adrianna Barraza shines pure genius in her performance as a Mexican immigrant whose devotion to her own family and that of her California employers leads to a nightmare of degradation and disillusionment.
Brad Pitt as Richard Jones, Cate Blanchett as his wife Susan Jones, and Gael Garcia Bernal as Santiago have garnered suitable acclaim for their respective roles as products of one culture who find their fates suddenly imperiled by the parameters of another. At times language is the obvious barrier in question but more often than language is attitude in the form of verbal and physical hostility.
Rinko Kikuchi as the troubled deaf mute Japanese adolescent Chieko is as dazzling as she is mesmerizing. Following her mother's suicide, the character of Chieko is condemned to alienation more from within than without. In a world where effective communication is already compromised by preoccupations with prejudice and hidden self-serving agendas, Chieko's attempt at connecting with others is further impeded by her inability to hear or speak vocally. Her situation turns into a profoundly precarious one when the need to reconnect with a sense of life manifests as clumsy heartbreaking attempts at erotic interaction. Chieko is a particularly significant character in "Babel" because it is through Rinko Kikuchi's portrayal of her with raw emotional power and symbolic physical nudity that we experience most fully the film's second major theme: the fate of children in the global village. Common to each of the three connected stories in "Babel," no matter the language spoken or the beliefs entertained, are children thrown into devastating states of crisis and trauma resulting from values and priorities established by adults.
The genuine beginning of "Babel" might appear to be when the barely adolescent boy Yussef, played by Boubker Ait El Caid, accidentally and ignorantly shoots the American tourist Susan while testing the gun's range. The film's real beginning, however, does not take place in front of the movie camera at all. It occurs when a Japanese tourist and hunter presents a gun to his Moroccan guide as a token of gratitude for services rendered. What, in the end, makes "Babel" an overwhelming masterpiece of tragic beauty is how this simple gesture evolves into a shooting that turns into a threat of international chaos and eventually results in the death of a true innocent. Of the many great films that came out in 2006, it is difficult to imagine a more universally substantial and relevant work of cinematic art than this one.
By Aberjhani
Author of I Made My Boy Out of Poetry
And Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (Facts on File Library of American History)
Movie Review: Tragedy in Translation
Summary: 5 Stars
A towering achievement, 'Babel,' provides a great alchemy. Last year's best films often had twisty, interlocking plots that came together from fragmented lives. 'Babel' continues this trend where few films have gone since. Not only that but the beautiful cinematography (courtesy Rodrigo Prieto) and the wonderfully placed soundtrack from Gustavo Santanella (both of 'Brokeback Mountain' fame) are just a few of the nuances in this brilliant movie. Having some of the feel of 'Syriana,' 'Babel' digs deeper. Both movies are grand and comprehensive with a theme: 'Babel' does for communication gaps what 'Syriana' did for the world oil industry and all its consuming problems--no pun intended! If movies are to give us escapist fare or illuminating transcendence, then 'Babel' succeeds in both by offering absorbing protagonists in a tight and ingenious story. Unlike 'Syriana,' a very good movie, 'Babel' doesn't exhaust us mentally. Beyond that, there's no comparison. 'Babel' is a magnificent and brilliant film that never stops fermenting resources.
Briefly, Richard and Susan Jones (Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchet) are traveling in a tour bus through the desert of Morocco. Along the nearby cliffs, two boys are testing a questionable rifle their father obtained from a Japanese hunter. They are shooting at rocks and other targets, skeptical of the claims that it can shoot up to three kilometers. The results seem to support their doubts until the younger boy shoots at a tour bus coming on a twisty, desert road below them. The result is that Susan is shot, barely discerning its impact at first. The movie then splits its focus in four pieces: The Japanese man has a deaf daughter (Koji Yakusho) who is isolated by her handicap, and typically, is frustrated by her luck with dating. Revelations are made about her father as well as the mother's mysterious death, which is given one rendering by the daughter, another by the father. Ties are made to the Japanese hunter with the gun found at the boys' home. Meanwhile, the boys' benign action creates an International incident. The Post 9/11 world is, understandably, nervous at the pull of a trigger. Fearing repercussions from America, the Moroccan government descends on the boys' family and community with terse language and much firepower. Misunderstandings are stretched to the breaking point. Back home in the US, the Smith's caretaker, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, cares about the two Smith children under her wing, but she won't miss a key relative's wedding in her native Mexico. Her solution? Take the kids over the border with her nephew, Santiago, driving the way to the fiesta. Her drunken nephew partly is responsible for making the return a living hell. (Things don't translate well at the border patrol.) Then, of course, there's the Smiths, who must break through the Arab language barrier and forget that the Third World doesn't offer the amenities, including health care, the way it does at home. Kindness translates in any language, and whenever it's present in the movie, `Babel' is partly defeated.
To tell the details of 'Babel' is a real spoiler, so I leave you to watch it. But one development is a testament to the movie's marvelousness. When we go to the discothèque in Japan, we hear and feel the silence and alienation Chieko goes through as she can only imitate others' bumping and grinding. We can see how painfully aware she becomes in her silence as she notices her fellow deaf friend stealing her boyfriend escort. Effective to every detail, the acting, editing, writing, and directing (Guillermo Arriaga and Alejandro Ina'rrita, respectively for the latter two) make 'Babel' a masterpiece. In an age of instant text messaging, 'Babel' reminds us of our frailty in ample situations that get "lost in translation". And a world of misunderstandings can take place with language barriers. (Highly recommended)
Movie Review: Babel = miscommunication, missed communication, striving for connection
Summary: 5 Stars
Babel is a film that asks us to rise above our cultural preconceptions because the director is not an American. He has not created a movie on the customary template of an action film (like Crash) that has a generous measure of high-five humor to deflect the tension. Many reviewers were absolutely scandalized by a couple of brief scenes involving teenage sexuality. They couldn't go beyond this, even though the rating of the film should have warned them. I find that more a reflection of the reviewers' own emotional landscapes than a flaw in the film. If we are going to wave around the word "gratuitous," there are 1,000 films that come to mind well before Babel in terms of gratuitous sex, violence, or "inappropriate" content. Welcome to the world of foreign film, folks! American films are sanitized in some areas while going overboard in others (notably horror, and blood 'n gore). There may be a blue state/red state schism reflected in these reviews, as there were some not-so-subtle slams against American foreign policy and the American (and wealthy White) temperament and sense of entitlement. Once again, this film was not made from a strictly American-centered viewpoint, but given that we are not the center of the universe, I personally found that refreshing and challenging in a healthy way.
I think what we are seeing in some responses to this film is the supercedence of the bloated, overweight, diabetic McMovie mentality of an increasing number of Americans. They have no knowledge of or interest in the great literature or cinema (or music or art) of the past that is outside their narrow (and at times intolerant) sensibilities. They're fine with movies which have oceans of blood flowing from a universe of severed body parts, but throw in a little psychological twist, or a scene propelled by supressed lust/existential loneliness, or "stupid" desperation (like Garcia's charcter driving off and leaving the nanny/kids) and they completely implode. If they ever find themselves at King Lear, The Seventh Seal, The 400 Blows, The Mahabarata or Einstein on the Beach they might develop a greater tolerance for ambiguity, emotional texture, and the co-existence of meaningfulness/meaninglessness as reflected in the great (albeit often demanding) art that keeps human intelligence moving in a forward and cumulative direction.
I am not going to repeat previous eloquent reviewers, but will just say that this film is wide-reaching, compelling, brilliantly conceived and masterfully portrayed. All the main actors were fantastic (and minor roles as well); the casting was superb. In defense of Brad Pitt, I thought he was solid, very moving and emotionally authentic in this dramatic role, if not the most sympathetic character. The cinematography was stunning. The scenes in Mexico were so remarkably true to life that I assume the sections shot in Toyko and Morocco were equally realistic.
The events that are broadcast over the radio or seen on CNN every day are infinitely more brutal, gruesome, unseemly and perverse (Abu Ghraib?) than anything portrayed in this film. It is art reflecting life, but choreographed and illuminated in such a way that we can bear the pain and see the beauty. I really find it difficult to see why many people are so offended and morally affronted by this film; does it cut too close to the bone in some way for them? What were they expecting? This review has already been censored once (I originally included ordinary words descriptive of the aforementioned scenes of sexuality that had also been used by reviewers complaining about them) and then completely deleted from the website twice. No one at amazon.com can tell me why. Someone is so threatened by my opinions that they are compelled to keep you from reading this.
Movie Review: Harsh and Authentic
Summary: 5 Stars
"Babel" wasn't easy to watch. The objective wasn't to entertain. Early on, one member of my family left the room because the reality was so intense. I was fascinated because the patina and shine surrounding most commercially ambitious films was missing from "Babel." I am drawn to the reality of movies like this, in the same sort of way I begin watching TV by starting at the top of the cable channels and working my way down to the networks. These days the networks feel overly contrived and fake, which is why they are usually my last choice.
"Babel" was about alot of things, and it was certainly thought provoking on many levels. Of all the themes worthy of discussion, I'm left thinking about the fragility of my modern, sheltered, western existance. The main characters in this movie are all just a random moment and a little bad luck and/or bad judgement away from total disaster.
I agree with most of the previous reviewers who found beauty in the directing, acting, camera work, and audio. Even the extras, such as the tourists on the bus whose growing fear is palpable, added to many dramatic moments. Most important, I think the movie was able to put us as nearly as possible (while sitting on my couch in the safety of my home) into the experiences of the main characters. Particularly memorable were the scenes with the brilliant young actress playing the deaf/mute. The sound came and went, the camera shook back and forth in dramatic anxiety, and the visual stimulation was overwhelming, as if we were experiencing what the young woman was experiencing. I understood the dreadful lonliness she was feeling while surrounded by hundreds of people in the club and on the streets of Tokyo.
Now, several days after seeing "Babel," I continue to contemplate the roles played by the various human beings who come in contact with the main characters in each of the three primary sub-plots. These entirely random intersections have a huge impact on what unfolds. First the unwitting antagonists: the stupid boys with the gun, the ugly men on the bus, the moron at the border station, the drunken nephew, the dentist, and the insensitive, distant father. These people cause the main characters to loose their footing and fall into peril.
Next, the miraculous strangers, who, when all appears to be lost, kindly (heroically?) step between the main characters and death. The two best examples were the Moroccan bus driver who invites the critically injured woman and her husband into his house while finding a doctor and a phone, and the police lieutenant, who somehow finds a way to be tender and understanding, probably preventing another suicide.
Finally, I'm left thinking about what desperation will do to people and how we respond. The babysitter went to great lengths after a series of bad decisions, to endure the desert to protect the kids. Moments after their petty despute where the couple ably demonstrates their indifference for each other, the husband does everything he can to save his wife. She cries - not when the pain gets too intense, but when he tells her he loves her. And finally the young woman who exposes and denudes herself, in a desperate attempt for a response of any kind from a world in which she finds herself completely alone.
I appreciate movies like this where the objective is to create art and tell a story as honestly as possible, where doing so the best way you know how, will inevitably preclude commercial success.
Movie Review: An Oscar-winning masterpiece with a lingering power
Summary: 5 Stars
Nominated for six Academy Awards (and winner for Music Score), producer-director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's BABEL is a complex and challenging treat for adult moviegoers. It demands full concentration, running 143 minutes and often with English subtitles. And it thrillingly intercuts related stories taking place along parallel lines in Morocco, Tokyo, and the Mexico-California border. It is a masterpiece that engrossed me while I watched it on DVD, and that haunts me one day later.
We start in Morocco with American tourists Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. A nomad family has received a powerful rifle as a survival present. Using it for fun, one child seriously wounds Blanchett in a distant tour bus. While she is taken by helicopter to a hospital in Casablanca, the incident is treated as an international terrorist attack by the media.
Cut to Tiajuana, where a birthday party is taking place. The guests include the kids of Blanchett and Pitt, plus their loyal long-time Mexican nanny (and Oscar nominee) Adriana Barraza. At dawn, the party breaks up and Barraza and the two children head back toward California. (They live in San Diego.)
Cut to Tokyo, all bright lights and neon signs at night. (The cinematographer is Rodrigo Prieto.) Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi plays a sex addict deaf-mute teenager who is frustrated at not being able to communicate with her businessman father. Linking the Tokyo scenes to Morocco is the fact that the murder weapon was apparently sold to the Moroccan father by Kikuchi's father. Critics who complain that the Tokyo scenes are irrelevant must have missed this crucial point.
So, we have a long movie that excitingly intercuts scenes in Arabic in Morroco, in Spanish in Mexico, and in Japanese in Tokyo. The yellow English subtitles on DVD are a huge help, and both Barraza and Kikuchi richly deserved their Oscar nominations. So did editor Stephen Mirrione. The brilliant common theme for Oscar nominees Inarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga is a lack of communication in a chaotic modern world. The Moroccan family cannot communicate with the English-speaking media. (Amusingly, a frustrated Pitt swears a lot, as if that would help expedite matters.) Kikuchi, as a deaf-mute, perhaps takes off her clothes (the film has full female frontal nudity) to gain her father's and others' attention. Most troubling of all, Barraza's illegal alien nanny character has a powerful pre-dawn confrontation with a Mexico-California border guard. He speaks Spanish, so he seems to be nasty with her just to set an example.
Editor Mirrione cross-cuts these three beautifully written and acted subplots faster and faster as we pass the two hour running time mark, with twenty minutes or so to go. BABEL is a masterpiece of filmmaking with a lingering power for me. It is the crowning achievement for Inarritu,. who previously made AMORES PERROS and 21 GRAMS. This is definitely his best film. Does Barraza's Mexican nanny get deported or sent home to San Diego? Does Japanese teenager Kikuchi make contact with her father? And does Blanchett's American tourist survive her gunshot wound? I will only say that the stories are satisfyingly and optimistically wrapped up for me, and that the final shot in nighttime Tokyo is haunting. BABEL is not to be missed.