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Amazon.co.uk Review
Brilliantly conceived, superbly directed, and beautifully acted, Babel is inarguably one of the best films of 2006. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and his co-writer, Guillermo Arriaga (the two also collaborated on Amores Perros and 21 Grams) weave together the disparate strands of their story into a finely hewn fabric by focusing on what appear to be several equally incongruent characters: an American (Brad Pitt) touring Morocco with his wife (Cate Blanchett) become the focus of an international incident also involving a hardscrabble Moroccan farmer (Mustapha Rachidi) struggling to keep his two young sons in line and his family together. A San Diego nanny (Adriana Barraza), her employers absent, makes the disastrous decision to take their kids with her to a wedding in Mexico. And a deaf-mute Japanese teen (the extraordinary Rinko Kikuchi) deals with a relationship with her father (Koji Yakusho) and the world in general that's been upended by the death of her mother. It is perhaps not surprising, or particularly original, that a gun is the device that ties these people together. Yet Babel isn't merely about violence and its tragic consequences. It's about communication, and especially the lack of it--both intercultural, raising issues like terrorism and immigration, and intracultural, as basic as husbands talking to their wives and parents understanding their children. Iñárritu's command of his medium, sound and visual alike, is extraordinary; the camera work is by turns kinetic and restrained, the music always well matched to the scenes, the editing deft but not confusing, and the film (which clocks in at a lengthy 143 minutes) is filled with indelible moments. Many of those moments are also pretty stark and grim, and no will claim that all of this leads to a "happy" ending, but there is a sense of reconciliation, perhaps even resolution. "If You Want to be Understood... Listen," goes the tagline. And if you want a movie that will leave you thinking, Babel is it. --Sam Graham
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Every action ( or perhaps lack of it) has a consequence,
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This review is from: Babel [DVD] (DVD)
Maybe it's an irony to find something that perhaps some find a downer, uplifting when feeling low.This is what happened for me last night when I watched this film. Life can be crap, but circumstances and what happens sometimes slips out of our hands. Life isn't fair, but anger does not solve this. It's just an effect that usually brings a result, which is more often than not, not good.
Anyway, of this film.I really do not feel like dissecting the beauty out of it, but seen this director's work before & felt sure was going to be good. It was. I will save for special times, but I will watch again & again.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Babel (2 Disc Collectors Edition),
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This review is from: Babel (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD] (DVD)
'Babel' is a slow paced, slightly melancholy film that follows four different stories and the links between them. It is a lot more coherent to watch than '21 Grams' which was made by the same director and makes this more enjoyable as a result. The stories are a touch aimless at times and the endings, whilst linking up well, aren't very powerful. But I guess life is like that, you have events that have a major impact and then you keep on going, plus we are a lot more connected than we first realise. I guess that is what this film is trying to put across. The performances were excellent, especially Chieko, the japanese deaf-mute girl, where you really feel her frustrations and vulnerability and Brad Pitt who is better than I thought he'd be. The soundtrack, which is quite sparse, allowing the atmosphere of the film to permeate through, was moving when it had to be and was far enough in the background when most appropriate. The ending piece of music was especially moving and added perfectly to the final scene. This is a good film and worth a watch, it has no definite beginning, middle and end, but that in no way detracts from the various stories and their impact, although I feel that may have disappointed other reviewers here. Give it a view and decided for yourself, especially if you like the feel of '21 Grams' but not the convoluted or confusing storyline.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazingly underrated,
This review is from: Babel [DVD] (DVD)
I am astounded that this film has received an average rating of only three stars from reviewers. It is in my view a superb film, brilliantly acted, directed and even the music is excellent.
One or two reviewerss indicate that the film takes itself seriously, is it really such a bad thing for a director to make a film which actually has some depth?.
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