Babel

With a name like Babel, you'd expect a film about the way language and culture divide the nations of the world, cause misunderstandings, and pull mankind apart. After watching this film , my understanding of it was cloudy. It's a complex film with many layers. I felt that the ideas and themes were more implicit than explicit.

Babel follows 4 inter-connected stories - an American couple in Morroco, a Moroccon family, a single parent Japanese family and a Mexican woman. We view how these stories weave, affecting one another in otherwise inconspicuous ways and watch every single one of them experience one way or another, a form of prejudice. The events that unfold throughout the film are not caused by cultural barriers as much as sheer bereaucratic foolishness. Although this film says a lot about the current socio-political climate inherent in our world today, it does very little to connect four desolete situations.

Babel is beautifully shot and wonderfully acted; Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett head up an ensemble cast, a series of vignettes strung together in a way that maximises their screen time. Taken individually, the film's short stories have a lot of depth to them. Stitched together in a single entity, they form a film that is ultimately, quite shallow.

What I liked about this film though was the way it framed politically, our current global inclination - "the shoot first, ask questions later" mentality when it comes to anything out of the ordinary. Even worse, when questions are finally asked, they are often based on preconceived assumptions about the people involved or their intentions. This problem generally boils down to an inability to communicate, which is where the title comes in. People are quick to judge, to misconstrue, to assume they understand. ~ Inspira