“Babel”
Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu. Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Boubker Ait El Caid, Said Tarchani, Adriana Barraza, Gael García Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi.
The Biblical tale of the Tower of Babel conveys the story of the Lord- so angry at mankind’s arrogance in believing they could build a tower to heaven- he dispersed these people who shared one language, across the earth and “confound[ed] their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech”(Genesis 11:7).
The film “Babel” tells four interconnecting stories of aggravation between people who are suffering from language and culture barriers. Babel is also about how the repercussions of what we do even in the most seemingly benign moments, affect others.
Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are a couple who've traveled to a remote area of Morocco in an attempt to repair their failing marriage. Adriana Barraza is Amelia, the caretaker of Richard and Susan's children at home in Southern California. Yussef (Boubker Ait El Caid) and Ahmed (Said Tarchani) are two Moroccan boys who are given a gun to shoot jackals. Rinko Kikuchi plays Chieko, a deaf-mute Japanese teenager.
Beyond their interconnections, what binds these stories together is the fact that each involves characters who are struggling with communicating with the people around them. Cheiko's trying to communicate her developing teenage attraction to boys, but having difficulty getting her feelings across in a predominately “hearing” world. She's also struggling with a troubled past and her relationship with her father. Richard fights to communicate with the people in a small village after his wife is shot unexpectedly. Amelia brings their children to Mexico so she can attend her son's wedding and runs into complications when trying to cross the border. Yussef and Ahmed accidentally commit a terrible crime and struggle to keep the truth a secret.
The writer, director and actors do a great job of getting across the frustration created by their inability to communicate. At several points you can't help but wish that the characters will just stop for a moment, shut up, and listen to one another. But we see that even when people are trying to communicate to one another within the same language, as in the case of Amelia, her nephew Santiago (Gael García Bernal), and a border control officer (Clifton Collins Jr.), there are communication difficulties. So, when you throw in different languages, cultures and interpretations, the communication obstacles just pile up until they seem insurmountable. However, in a world where it’s of the utmost importance to communicate clearly across borders and cultures, it’s a scary look at how people and actions can easily be misinterpreted and at the chilling consequences that can result from those misunderstandings.
Story: B
Acting: B
Visuals: B
Originality: B
Enjoyability: B-
Overall: B
|
