Movie Review
‘Babel’: Fist-Clenchingly,
Heart-Wrenchingly Remarkable   

By Anna Duning (November 14, 2006)

‘Babel’ is easily one of the most compelling and provocative movies that I have seen in a long time. The last film that shook me as much as “Babel” was “Crash,’ whose powerful themes and performances still weaken in comparison. While “Crash” was stirring, “Babel” was gripping, so much so that in reacting to the movie’s emotional intensity, I grasped the sides of my seat nearly the entire time.

“Babel,” directed by the incredibly talented Alejandro Gonzalez Iñàrritu, hits all the right notes that a good movie should, but exceptionally forcefully. First, the plot is captivating; it does not lose command for a second, despite the film’s lengthiness. The four stories span continents, languages and generations as they chronicle an American couple (played by Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt) on a suddenly fatal vacation; an impoverished Moroccan family whose fate changes with a single shot of a .227 caliber rifle; a deaf-mute Japanese teenager, sexually crazed by her inexorable loneliness; and a Mexican nanny whose decision to attend her son’s wedding alters more than just her own life.

Interconnected, although some more effectively than others, the four stories are cause for serious distress in each of the characters. One of the most compelling occurs when a young Moroccan boy emotionally surrenders to authorities for firing the shot that killed the American tourist (Blanchett). Or perhaps it is when the Amelia, the Mexican nanny, is forced to leave behind the children whom she has raised and cared for after running into complications with the border patrol. Or maybe it is when Pitt ... well, they were all powerful. Nonetheless, Iñàrritu also weaves in social and political commentary, but in its subtlety, it seems warranted considering the plot.

The acting certainly does justice to the plot’s intensity. The film boasts performances by Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Gael Garcia Bernal, and while they command their own stories, they do not overrun the film. Equally talented newcomers, cast from their respective countries (including Rinko Kikuchi, Adriana Barraza, Boubker Ait El Caid and Said Tarchani) certainly hold their own in their performances.

Furthermore, the effectiveness of the “Babel’s” brilliant art direction and music definitely help carry the film. While the story of Chieko, the young Japanese girl, is the least related to the parallel plots (probably one of the movie’s few faults), the vivid portrayal of a loud Tokyo, juxtaposed with Chieko’s deafness, definitely lends her story worthiness.

“Babel” is undeniably intense in terms of its plot, sometimes seeming more like an action movie than a drama, but its message about the interconnectedness of humans through relationships and pain is not glaring. Instead, it allows the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions, especially from the movie’s ending, which is optimistic for some characters but uncertain for others.

While seeing “Babel” is far from a pleasant movie-going experience, it is an invaluable one in the way the film provokes thought and emotion, even if you have to remind yourself to breathe.