Babel

I'll get the negative stuff out of the way up front: This movie has an underlying liberal agenda. The movie teaches you that GUNS ARE BAD, that people in Afghanistan are not terrorists, that USA politicians are unreliable wishy-washy attention grabbers, and that everyone involved in law enforcement is a bad guy prone to hyperactive violence inflicted on poor, innocent, unarmed poor people.Well, OK, maybe the USA politicians idea is universally accepted as true, but I wouldn't doubt it was being aimed at the current Administration, which is kind of annoying.With that out of the way, I would highly recommend that any mature, thinking, film-loving adult see Babel. It is an amazing work of creativity, especially in how it slowly reveals the interconnections that span the globe. At first it is difficult to see any connection between various story lines, and it is at first a bit jarring to have the action completely switch gears and players.However, that feeling of being wrenched from one situation to another begins to change to awe, as you start to sense the intelligence and craftiness that went into the construction of the characters, plot points, and editing.I must say that the storyline involving the Japanese girl was the most intriguing and eye-opening, and the actress playing the girl is perhaps one of the most brave I have seen. The scene in the disco near the end of her story thread was just amazing and emotionally engaging.On the topic of Brad Pitt, I thoroughly enjoy his performances -- always -- and I think he's one of the best actors working today. There are probably a lot of people who will disagree with me and say that he's just there for his looks, but ever since I saw him years ago in Legends of the Fall I have been impressed by his performances. That being said, I think he may not be the best actor for this role. I can't put a finger on it, but my gut says he's the one who is most mis-cast -- but ever so slightly.Overall, my strong recommendation to see this movie is only extended to those who are not distracted or put-off by mature subjects and nudity. You must be able to keep an open mind when you see events being portrayed in an anti-law enforcement perspective. Also, if you are unable to ignore the strong anti-gun undercurrent, then you probably won't enjoy it as much.Myself, when I watch a movie I tend to immerse myself in the story without weighing each point against my own belief system, so I can experience it the way the director intended, even though I may have strong disagreements with Hollywood writers and their social agendas. The only time I can remember finding myself unable to stay immersed in the story was in the movie, "Bridge to Terabithia," with the little 7-year-old kid saying the Bible said the other kid was "going straight to Hell", but fortunately there was nothing in Babel that was quite so outrageous that took me out of it.

I got to watch the DVD of Babel early this afternoon before the Academy Awards came on. Though reminding quite a bit of the movie, Crash, this film proved to be a powerful drama with compelling performances by all of its actors. I was struck in how a simple act of kindness by a Japanese businessman on a hunting trip in Morocco when he gives his guide a rifle as a gift can have such an astounding affect on four different families around the world. This is the basis for the movie. When the guide later sells the rifle to a nearby Moroccan family, the father of the family gives the rifle to his two small sons so that they can shoot the jackals that are eating their goats. The boys are not very old--maybe eight and ten. Trying to see just how far the rifle will shoot, the boys end up hitting a tourist bus and Cate Blanchett's character is shot in the shoulder. This event has the ripple affect as her husband, who's played by Brad Pitt, attempts to get medical help for his injured wife in the middle of nowhere. Their Mexican nanny will be affected as she makes the decision not to miss her son's wedding in Mexico and to take the two children in her charge with her. This will have dire consequences for all involved. There's also the Japanese businessman and his deaf daughter, who's still recovering from the suicide of her mother. The journey that Babel takes is filled with hardship, stupidity, anger, and compassion. There are no easy answers to the things that happen. Even at the end, you still feel kind of empty due to the tragedies that have already taken place. I have to say that Adriana Barraza as the Mexican nanny and Rinko Kikuchi as the Japanese daughter steal the film with their non-flinching, emotional performances. The director of the movie, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, manages to capture the true humanity in each of the characters and how we're all interconnected in today's world. Babel is certainly a film worth seeing and worth owning for your DVD library. There are no extras with this DVD, so a collector's edition may be coming out this summer. Highly recommended!!!

Excellent movie.

Der Film schafft es auf einzigartige Weise individuelle Schicksale auf vier Kontinenten miteinander zu verknüpfen und neben der jeweiligen persönlichen Tragik, den Geschehnissen auch noch eine politische Dimension zu verleihen. Dabei ist das Drehbuch in keinerlei Hinsicht überzogen, sondern erzählt vom täglich stattfindenden Wahnsinn dieser Welt, dem Ineinanderwirken scheinbar voneinander unabhängiger Ereignisse, sowie der entscheidenden Bedeutung von Kommunikation und Sprache und deren verschiedensten Mittel. Der Soundtrack vermittelt seinerseits ohne große Worte Stimmung und kulturellen Hintergrund der jeweiligen Szenerie, und Ryuichis Sakamotos Stück "Bibo no aozora" weist zum Schluss in aller Tiefe auf die metaphysische Aussage des Filmes hin.

Sono già in possesso di 21 Grammi e Amores Perros, conosco molto bene il cinema di Inarritu, regista molto tragico che ci mostra il disagio esistenziale e i problemi sociali che caratterizzano i popoli di tutto il mondo. Anche qui abbiamo tre storie che si svolgono in luoghi ben lontani fra loro (Giappone, Marocco, Stati Uniti e Messico) che all'apparenza non hanno alcun nesso fra di loro ma che ben presto ci faranno capire come tutto sia collegato da sei gradi di separazione. Tutto nasce da un cacciatore giapponese che durante una battuta di caccia in Marocco, soddisfatto della sua guida, gli regala il suo fucile. E da qui gli eventi precipiteranno. La leggerezza, l'ingenuità e la superficialità possono portare a serie e drammatiche conseguenze per chi vi è coinvolto. Film molto intenso e duro, ma molto coinvolgente con un ottimo cast di attori. Qualità del BD veramente molto buona sia per le immagini, sia per il sonoro con un ottimo DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio. Ottimo servizio Amazon.

La pelicula estupenda, pero no está doblada al castellano aunque si subtitulada ... al menos la que me llegó a mi

Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu is a director who must be obsessed with the number three. In his directorial debut he gave us the triple plot strand of Amores Perros, showing the fallout surrounding a particularly brutal car crash, and followed it up with 21 Grams, the triple plot strand that shows the effect of death on three people. Now, with Babel, it is almost as if he has completed his trilogy focussing on three, being another triple plot line involving the events that lead up to and follow a tragic accident. Concerning itself with the accidental shooting of American tourist Susan (Cate Blanchett) in Morocco, Innarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga have given us yet another movie that deals with human relationships by demonstrating that even the most unlikely event can link people. Susan and husband Richard (Brad Pitt) are suffering marital difficulties and have come to Morocco to re-connect, but seem to be doing anything but, so it is only when Susan is shot that they both realise what they have. Meanwhile, their children remain blissfully unaware what has happened to their mother and are being looked after by their Mexican nanny Amelia (a great performance by Adrianna Barraza). Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond everyones control, Amelia is not going to be able to attend her own sons wedding in Mexico, so in a decision that you know is going to come back to haunt her, she takes the kids with her, a decision that will have dire consequences for all involved. And in Japan, the daughter of the man who originally owned the rifle used in the shooting Chieko (a deeply deeply affecting turn by Rinko Kikuchi) is coming to terms with her mothers death, her estrangement from her father and her own deafness. The single shot that links all these individuals is the focus of this deep and ultimately very moving film. This is a film that looks deep into the heart of the human condition and ultimately decides that no matter what we might think, we are all flawed in some way. Dealing with cultural divides, whether they be wealth (contrast the tourists with the Moroccans), ideological (again, the tourists undisguised fear when they wind up in a strange village as Pitt desperately tries to find some help for his badly injured wife), social (Chieko's anger when a boy she likes doesn't want to talk to her after he realises she is deaf, eliciting the line "they think we are some kind of monsters" to her friend) or racial (the American border guards treatment of Amelia), the film is a plea for tolerance and understanding, with some moments of genuine warmth (in particular the role played by Anwar (Mohammed Akhzan), a tour guide on the bus that Richard and Susan are on and the only person who really helps him, wanting nothing in return). The acting is uniformly excellent, with Pitt and Blanchett managing to elicit some very tender scenes from the most awful conditions, and Gael Garcia Bernal as Santiago, Amelia's nephew is his usual excellent self. But if the acting plaudits must go to anyone, it should be Rinko Kikuchi as Chieko, a girl who is so desperately unhappy that she can no longer deal with the world around her. The triple plot line is deftly handled (wouldn't expect anything less), and whilst the narrative jumps back and forth in time, thereby demanding a commitment from the viewer, it is not hard to follow and is a rewarding experience because of the attention you are forced to give to the film. Coupled with some of the most beautifull cinematography I have ever seen (the night shots of the Chieko's home city, the breathtakingly beautiful shot of a helicopter coming in to land) and some genuine insights into what makes us human (the final scene between Richard and Anwar is moving because no words are spoken or needed), this is not a film that will leave you with a "happy" ending, but it will leave you with the feeling that the characters have reached an understanding, both with each other and with themselves.