Babel (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2006)

[Christmas Cyclops]

I too echo everyone else's misgivings that the film ends with the Jones family safely in the arms of the US government. It felt as if the director and writer were acknowledging that all of the world is nothing more than an expansive tourist playground for white American's who are malcontent with their own lives and tragedies.

Doesn't that seem to be more of your acknowledgement than Inarritu's and Arriaga's? If Blanchett died, would the movie not be an admittance of how rich Americans have the means to travel to whichever destination? I'm curious how you made this connection. If the movie focused entirely upon Pitt and Blanchett's travels through exotic locales and ended with a tearful return home, you may be right, but, their story seemed to be on equal footing with the others and, the outcome of their story was relayed via newscaster.

Brad Pitt's character telling his maid/nanny to cancel her son's wedding because he cannot find anyone to look after his children while he and his wife are on holiday rings with tones of economic superiority and racism.

The maid served under him, according to her, for 16 years so I don't think it's racism. He came off awful in that scene but I think it can be more attributed to his distress over his wife.

The scenes in Morocco ring false as well. There is no attempt to understand these characters or their lives, they simply act as set dressing, futher showing the Middle East as a third world geographical space that can be beautiful for pretty pictures but once the people attempt to take care of themselves and their problems they are labeled terrorists. Does everyone have to be a terrorist?

I really think you're bringing your own conceptions into your reading (who doesn't!). The media and the American embassy within the movie suggested terrorism, not the movie itself. The main miscommunication in that story is that they are not terrorists, but young boys who made a stupid mistake.

What's curious (and troubling) about that segment is how the two boys spying on their naked sister (?) is treated just as harshly as them killing the American tourist. I don't understand the point behind this -- that Moroccan families have skewed priorities?

I believe that this film is simply another example of how America seeks to colonize the rest of the world by telling them that their problems and ways of life are inferior to those of America.

Could you please go more in depth. I'm seeing this as the opposite and do not see how you can conclude that going off of Blanchett being allowed to return home.

--
Is Japan not a capitalist nation?
--

All in all, I think the movie really as trite as most reviewers are trumpeting. And methinks a nice drinking game could be fashioned out of spotting the miscommunication. They really do themselves no favor naming their movie "Babel" and it all felt like it needed a tacked on scene at the end where Innaritu and Arriage propose an international language and fire the opening shots in its implementation.

I don't think the movie really earns those emotional, tears falling moments. It felt like Arriaga and Inarritu took lifes lived and zoomed totally on the moments where emotion is obviously apparent. The opening lunch between the Americans felt calculated for their face smothering togetherness later on -- the whole tragedy brings us closer line. I agree with most of the reviewers when they say the Japanese storyline worked best and it was a nice touch to include the police officer in it all (but running alongside it was that note she gave her).

[Jun-Dai]

I'm just glad the girl didn't commit suicide. I spent the last 30 minutes of the film in fear of that possibility.

[Antoine Doinel]

I saw this tonight and I liked it but didn't love it the way I hoped I would. I felt the various threads varied in interest for me and ultimately didn't have the same overall impact on me the way 21 Grams did.

I have no idea what movie you were watching filmnoir1, but entire point of the film was to show that, yes, the rest of the world is held at the whim of American policies to the detriment of other peoples, but the film hardly condoned these actions. I didn't feel at all that the Jones' were "back in the loving arms of the American government" as someone else stated here. Yes, their government helped them out, but only after strategically aligning themselves with all the right and camera ready political maneuvers. Susan Jones nearly lost an arm in the process. And I think the film made it pretty perfectly clear that making the attempted murder out to be a "terrorist act" was ridiculous (via the Moroccan offical's comments over the radio that one act of banditry shouldn't be blown out of proportion).

The things that worked for me were actually the elements "outside" the film. The score was great and the sound mix of the film as a whole - lots of white noise building and fading on the sides - really pushed the "lack of communcation angle" Innaritu was going for. I also thought the paralled Mexican wedding and Japanese rave sequences worked wonderfully well and the deportation sequence was devastating as well (that actress alone deserves some recognition). The film had individual moments that were great, but that ultimately, didn't add up to much.

However, I will agree that much of the A-list cast was wasted. Gael Garcia Bernal, Cate Blanchett and Michael Pena (who looked like he walked in off the set of World Trade Center) were all criminally underused.

[Lemmy Caution]

Someone early in this thread was asking for more quick editing as a way to improve the film. That jolted me, as I found the rapid edits, sweeping camera motions, and the general faux gritty look very off-putting. Babel reminded me of The Constant Gardener in look, combined with the thematic approach of Crash. Unfortunately, I didn't care for either of those films. The editing and look of the film really distanced me from the events of the film, which were seemingly intended to be emotional and involving.

Blanchett was convincing in her role, so it was disappointing that she had so little to do. I usually like Pitt, but thought he was barely adequate here.

The Mexican/US portion seemed especially contrived and full of stereotypes/cliches. The Japanese element was the most interesting and original, though it too suffered from melodrama.

[portnoy]

For what it's worth, my call for quick editing was at least a little facetious - it's just that the only two sequences in the entire film that worked for me were those two incredible montages, where Inarritu's blend of hand-held camerawork, rapid-fire editing, speed ramping, and various 'tricks' actually finds a compelling narrative and thematic reason for existence. Elsewhere, his use of these strategies seems tired and facile.

[marty]

I saw this on the weekend and I wanted to love it so much but I was quite underwhelmed by it. When the film ended, the film disappeared from my head without leaving an impression at all. I felt it was too self-important and over-contrived, trumpeting its own seriousness at every turn as well as being quite manipulative. It was screaming "Oscar, look at me" and I think Oscar may indeed but I find it very over-rated.

[JFarina]

I just saw this at the local art house tonight and while I did enjoy it, I find that hours later it left no real lasting impression.

I didn't have any real problem with the film ending once the Pitt-Blanchett story was resolved, given that the shooting was the one event around which everything else revolved. What did disappoint me was that the way the film was marketed (not to mention the title) promised that the filmmakers had something more to say about the difficulty of connection even in our ever-shrinking world, but ultimately I found little of that in the film at all.

I agree with those who said the Japan segments worked best, but with the merely circumstantial connection to the events in Morocco, they felt like an entirely different film. Yes, had Yasujiro not given the rifle to Hassan(?) the shooting would not have occurred, but what did that have to do with Chieko? The weaving of her story into the rest of the film felt somewhat forced to me.

Despite my complaints, I still think this might be worth another look on dvd.

[a.khan]

I'm going to get creamed for saying this. "Babel" is #5 on my Worst Movies of 2006. Ofcourse an opinion has little basis without analysis. Here's what I thought about it...to put things in context, my other worst picks are here
--

“Babelâ€

[PsychoAU]

I agree with those who said the Japan segments worked best, but with the merely circumstantial connection to the events in Morocco, they felt like an entirely different film. Yes, had Yasujiro not given the rifle to Hassan(?) the shooting would not have occurred, but what did that have to do with Chieko? The weaving of her story into the rest of the film felt somewhat forced to me.

I agree. While I liked the Japan segments, they felt incredibly out of place with the rest of the film. I kept thinking there would be some grand connection made between all the stories at the end. A twist of sorts. But it never happened. While the story was interesting, ultimately Chieko's involvement was wholly irrelevant. Nothing she did or experienced was impacted or had any impact on the other stories.

At least with the Mexico story, the kids had a direct connection in a way that would affect the other story. The same goes for the kids with the gun. Their story had a direct impact on the main story.

But ultimately, Chieko's story should have been a separate movie. It would have been nice to see a full length movie about her struggle over her mother and her issues with sexuality and father figures. Plus, the actress who played Chieko did a marvelous job at conveying the emotions of being frustrated with being deaf and finding her place in the world.

[King of Kong]

I'm a sucker for movies with converging plotlines and I thought this was a goodie. Probably not as good as Iñárritu's debut, Amores Perros, but not bad, let alone offensively bad. Granted, does belabour its central themes (globalisation, difficulties of communication across cultures) a bit, and some of the individual stories have only a tangential relationship with one another, but overall I found it rivetting, and at the end, haunting (the Japanese plotline was my favourite, BTW).

[King of Kong]

I only noticed now that David Bordwell has an entry on Babel on his blog: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=147

Like anything Bordwell writes, it is interesting reading, but I'm not sure of what he is getting at here:

After all, the drama is fundamentally about how prosperous white people have to suffer because Asian, Mexican, and North African men have guns.

What is Bordwell saying? That Inarritu is a champion of white imperialism and the Babel is a cautionary tale against off-white people with guns? This doesn't sound like Bordwell at all. Have I misunderstood?

[Roger_Thornhill]

I saw this film several weeks ago and it has been interesting to read everyone's responses to it, both positive and negative. It seems as if the central idea the film wanted to convey (as mentioned here already) is the tragedy that can result from miscommunication and misunderstandings between different cultures, but I think the method by which Babel explores this felt contrived and at times absolutely ludicruous.

Iñárritu's character's actions seem to be more out of fulfilling the filmmaker's idealogical themes than actions that would make sense for those particular characters. Are we really to believe that a Mexican illegal immigrant would take the risk of crossing the border for her son's wedding with two young American children she's supposed to be watching? I saw the film with a Mexican friend of mine with illegal relatives and he was shocked at her stupidity. No illegal immigrant could be that foolish and reckless. And then she allows a drunken Bernal (who's wasted in the film) to drive them back after a night of heavy drinking? She deserved to get deported if she's that stupid. The whole Mexico storyline rang hollow to me because I could practically hear Innauritu saying "the US immigration policies are bad! Look what they did to this sweet woman!" I agree, the US immigration policies are fucked up, but can't that be explored in a more subtle and intelligent manner?

I also had a hard time swallowing that two children would seriously not understand the consequences of shooting at people in a bus. These aren't four year olds. I remember at age ten throwing snowballs at cars and attempting to avoid the windshield so as not to make the driver overreact and crash (I know doing that to begin with was not very bright). But I certainly knew at that age that shooting guns at cars will lead to very bad things. I also was shocked that the other passengers on the bus were so selfish that they were willing to abandon a wounded woman in a remote town because they were inconvenienced. Surely Iñárritu is not that cynical about humanity or Westerners in particular?

I agree that one of the main arguements of Iñárritu's picture is the negative effect US policies have on people all over the globe (although how that would relate to the Japanese episode I'm not so sure - Iñárritu probably isn't either), but again the oftentimes ridiculous and heavy-handed manner in which this issue is explored lessens the impact of his arguement (see above). The Japanese storyline is the one redeeming factor of Babel, in my opinion, and unfortunately Babel appears to be the Crash of 2006. It'll win Best Picture for certain and the Academy will pat themselves on the back just like they did after Crash won for giving the award to a film about BIG ISSUES with little regard for how it trivializes them with it's ham-handed manner of exploring them. Gosh I get cranky at a quarter to four in the morning...

[King of Kong]

Any thought's re: Bordwell's comment, anyone?

[portnoy]

Spoilers herein, I suppose:

Yeah, I tend to agree with him. Though it probably wasn't an intentional theme on Inarritu/Arriaga's part, it was instantly one of the things that came to mind when I saw the film - that so much of it is founded upon these melodramatic conceits that Certain People Just Don't Know How to Handle Guns, and all those Certain People happen to be non-white men, many of whom are made aggressively, offensively stupid simply via their gun possession. Those idiot kids shooting at a bus - as an above poster commented, those kids were preteens - could they really have not known how stupid/dangerous they were being? The entire Gael plot is infuriating, if only because every decision he makes in the film is clearly the wrong one. And frankly, why can't Amelia just say "Hey, I'm their nanny - I took them down to my son's wedding. Now I'm taking them back"? She seems perfectly competent in her English other places in the film, but here she just clams up and is unable to complete a thought. The Japanese gun stuff is more tenuous, if only because it's such a mindlessly half-considered way of tieing the Japanese narrative to the rest of the movie, but there is this sense of decadence and thoughtlessness on part of the upper-class Japanese man who gives away this weapon.

The biggest moral I took away from the film was that one should not travel anywhere, ever, because it will inevitably lead to tragedy, horror, and bad sex scenes.

[filmnoir1]

Here, here Portnoy. I am glad to see that other people are beginning to realize that the film is truly flawed and more important that this is a film that sells the idea that white Americans are all that matters. How many films do we need that continue to sell the notion that the world is a place filled with savage passions that can only be regulated and understood by American people and politics.

[King of Kong]

The way I see it, Babel is a film in which characters do make bad mistakes. And tragic mistakes have tragic consequences.

The kids should not have shot at the vehicle, then again, I once saw a video in which a group of guys with a paintball-gun went on a drive-by shooting rampage. In other words, kids sometimes do play silly-buggers without considering the dangerousness of the act. Furthermore, I don't think the Mexican nanny's uncommunicativeness at the border was a plot hole - she had just come back from a wedding and was not likely to be in her best spirits. Perhaps she kept shtum out of nervousness at being an illegal immigrant in the US?

filmnoir1, that seems a gross misinterpretation of the film to me. I think one of the film's main targets for criticism is the notion that some people (or politicians) have that the communication and communication of values across cultures is possible. In interviews, Inarittu comes across as very critical of US foreign policy - I don't think he's a mouthpiece for American imperialism. Christmas Cyclops above has more to say on these points.

[Antoine Doinel]

I would have to also say filmnoir1, that you may have misinterpreted the film which isn't a knock against you so much as the flimsiness of Babel itself.

As King Of Kong, Inarritu has made his politics pretty obvious in interviews, not to mention his hilarious jab at Schwarznegger at the Golden Globes: "Don't worry Mr. Governor, I have my papers."

[filmnoir1]

I am willing to admit that perhaps this film simply escapes my understanding, but that does not excuse the fact that the film seems contrived. It is a perfect example of what occurs when filmmakers and studios collude together to create a film that will assuredly attract the attention of critics and of course awards. Please do not misunderstand me, I am not opposed to films winning awards or being recognized. What I am opposed to is the facile belief that film is a medium which is always about art and never about politics.

This being said, I do believe that Inarritu's career so far seems to be an example of how a filmmaker may become entranced with their own cliches and this is one of the major reasons that I found this film to be lacking. Not to mention the fact that Brad Pitt's character and his relationship with Blanchett and the other tourists reads as more of a caricature rather than a fleshed out statement.

Also I am not against multiculturalism or an investigation into how people are similar and different across cultures and experiences but this film fails to deliver the goods. For a better demonstration of such an exercise I recommend seeing Letters from Iwo Jima.

[HerrSchreck]

Knowing very little about this film (by actively paying very little attention to hype culture) I went to see it.

This is cinematic unfolding by means of a rock crusher. How many breathlessly grieving interludes of "transitional angst" can you amp up via spacious, contemplative music (against a muted, grey palette) to club the Pain Of The World into the very serious white audience?

This jittery hand-held You Are There shit is pure agony for me. I simply can't stand it any longer. We live in such a fucking goofball world with the corniest goddam trends parading around with such incredible self-seriousness, it's just amazing the "thinking world" is truly serious about this stuff. Riding home with my old lady she says to me, stunned, "THAT won the Golden Globe for ....????", whereby I said "Well.... I guess-- what the hell else is there in the mass market?" Depressing.

One truly sublime moment however, I must doff my hat: the moment in the park with the Japanese kids drinking, jolting X and dancing in the club. The cutting, the music-- pure raw power of the cinema. Too bad I paid eleven fucking bucks for about 8 minutes of compelling film.

[Matt]

One truly sublime moment however, I must doff my hat: the moment in the park with the Japanese kids drinking, jolting X and dancing in the club. The cutting, the music-- pure raw power of the cinema. Too bad I paid eleven fucking bucks for about 8 minutes of compelling film.

Agreed, that was great--the best part of the movie by far (and where can I find that hot remix of "September"?). I think the Japanese storyline should have been its own movie (and get rid of that awful, hilariously contrived "connection" to the other stories) and the maid/Mexico storyline should have been its own movie (and get rid of the ridiculous car chase). I think it would be interesting to see a movie about a Mexican woman who raises two kids for their absent parents (who would only be present as voices over the phone) who has to take them across the border because no one else will watch them for one day and then ends up a victim of bureaucracy and ludicrous immigration policies. The rest of the movie didn't need to be made (sorry, Pitt and Blanchett).

This jittery hand-held You Are There shit is pure agony for me.

This is pretty mild compared to a lot of contemporary British filmmaking. I don't know what's going on over there, but apparently there isn't a tripod to be found in the whole country. Everyone whose name is not Paul Greengrass should stop it immediately.

[portnoy]

Oh it's so so so so less offensive in My Summer of Love and Bleak House (and Pride and Prejudice, where it's used wonderfully) than it is here. And Greengrass is, for me, the worst offender in the hand-held=immediacy fallacy.

[Eric]

(and where can I find that hot remix of "September"?).

It sounded awfully close to the Phats & Small remix to my ears, though I think the credits indicated it was specially remixed for the film.

[King of Kong]

I agree - I would not have minded seeing a feature-length version of the Japanese subplot. I didn't mind Babel as much as some of the people on this board, but Cheiko's story has stayed with me the most.

[Matt]

(and where can I find that hot remix of "September"?).

It sounded awfully close to the Phats & Small remix to my ears, though I think the credits indicated it was specially remixed for the film.

For those what care, it's available on the newly-expanded soundtrack CD (also available as an individual track on iTunes).

[Michael]

Just walked in from watching Babel. I love it. Reminded me a lot of Magnolia. Very sobering and beautifully fragile film with quiet compassion. Nothing like Crash. It's not preachy at all. More on the film in a few days.

and get rid of that awful, hilariously contrived "connection" to the other stories

Matt, are you talking about the rifle?