Babel (2006)
Babel (2006) 8/10
2006 Cannes Film Festival:
Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Alejandro González Iñárritu
Technical Grand Prize Stephen Mirrione (Editing)
With virtuoso direction by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel weaves a compelling tale spanning 3 continents with an excellent ensemble cast. Easily one of the year’s best, Babel has already garnered 7 Golden Globe nominations , and looks set to make a splash come Oscar season- and deservedly so. The title, Babel refers to the biblical story of how God confused the languages of people, and Babel explores the interconnectedness of this world as well as how people cannot communicate.
A rifle triggers off a chain of events that would affect the lives of people in 3 different continents, and Inarritu handles the triptych of interweaving tales like a master storyteller. Like his previous films, Amores Perros and 21 Grams, the scenes in Babel may not necessarily occur in straight chronological order, and Inarritu brings out excellent performances from an international cast. The most recognizable faces is obviously the Cate Blanchett- Brad Pitt plotline, but the strongest plotline is undoubtedly the Japanese one. Rinko Kikuchi has already been nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the Golden Globes for her portrayal of a deaf-mute girl in Babel, and I’m going to say that she absolutely deserves to win. The weakest plotline is probably the Mexico plotline, featuring Gael Garcia. Its not weak per se, but it just gives me the feeling that it was tagged on and isn’t really that interesting compared to the others.
With beautiful cinematography—the neon-lit urban jungle of Japan provides a stark juxtaposition to Morocco and Mexico, Babel is a beautiful and bleak tale about how the chorus of voices are meaningless when we cannot communicate. The closing shot of Kikuchi with her father atop their Tokyo highrise, is a metaphorical allusion to the tower of Babel, and probably the only scene where the father finally begins to understand his daughter.
Deftly weaving a triptych of tales across three continents, Babel is a haunting, powerful and thought provoking piece of film-making with an excellent ensemble cast from around the globe. It’s the kind of film you owe it to yourself to watch.
“This is cathartic, thought-provoking, emotionally solid movie-making. It’s the kind of cinema I hope to see whenever I sit down in a theater to view a drama. Whether viewed amidst a flood of pictures in the middle of a film festival or on its own in a local multiplex, Babel stands out from the crowd. Its complex (yet not mystifying) storytelling, forceful character development, and superb cinematography make this a candidate for one of 2006’s best offerings.”- Berardinelli
“Challenging, consistently surprising, and etched in heartfelt sorrow, Inarritu’s third and reportedly final collaboration with screenwriter/novelist Guillermo Arriaga is a spellbinding and superbly acted nonlinear, multi-layered narrative that gradually reveals the mysterious connection linking strangers in Morocco, Tokyo, Southern California, and Mexico.”- KNIGHT
“Babel swept me up, up, up and carried me away.” - Strauss
