Babel (USA/Mexico) (Paramount) (2006) ***1/2Year: 2006iMDB
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu got us used to his gut wrenching, powerful stories and non-linear story-telling style (Amores Perros, 21 Grams). And his latest movie is in the same vein, but perhaps not of the same caliber.
Babel's stories are no less powerful than the ones we've seen in the two previous movies. However, where 21 Grams upped the ante, was the feel that there was an overarching theme connecting the stories, same way that last year's Oscar winner Crash managed to masterfully do. Babel sets up high expectations in that respect and only fills them in a subtle way that does not fully satisfy. Babel's two main stories are tales that show misapprehension due to language and cultural barriers (American, Mexican, Arab). The third story, that of a mute Japanese teenage girl, is used to illustrate to what extent the lack of verbal understanding can be a barrier, or, perhaps to show how such a barrier can be overcome with patience and love.
Innaritu's imagery is beautiful, but the message does not easily transpire and the characters are not easy to identify with.
Posted by TheCasualCritic on December 24, 2006 10:46 PM