Babel

Average customer rating: 3.5

Definitely worth watching!
just another "crash" movie
See BABEL. Reflect, meditate, be concerned. It is a GREAT Film.
The title says it al
Emotionally moving and jarring

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Babel
Starring: Brad Pitt , Cate Blanchett , Mohamed Akhzam , Peter Wight , and Harriet Walter
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Manufacturer: Paramount
Product Group: DVD
Binding: DVD
ASIN: B000MCH5P4
2007-02-20

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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

Beyond Babel <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src=" http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000A3XY5A.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Other Interweaving Storylines on DVD </td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/aplus/babel/Alejandro.jpg" border="0">
Other DVDs by Director Alejandro González Iñárritu</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/whywelove/cateblanchettmug._V47022929_.jpg" border="0">
Why We Love Cate Blanchett</td> </tr> </table> Stills from Babel (click for larger image) <table border="0" cellpadding="4" width="100%" cellspacing="4">

</tr> <tr align="center" valign="top">

</tr> </table>

Product Description

In Babel, a tragic incident involving an American couple in Morocco sparks a chain of events for four families in different countries throughout the world. In the struggle to overcome isolation, fear, and displacement, each character discovers that it is family that ultimately provides solace.

In the remote sands of the Moroccan desert, a rifle shot rings out-- detonating a chain of events that will link an American tourist couple's frantic struggle to survive, two Moroccan boys involved in an accidental crime, a nanny illegally crossing into Mexico with two American children, and a Japanese teen rebel whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. Separated by clashing cultures and sprawling distances, each of these four disparate groups of people are nevertheless hurtling towards a shared destiny of isolation and grief. In the course of just a few days, they will each face the dizzying sensation of becoming profoundly lost - lost in the desert, lost to the world, lost to themselves - as they are pushed to the farthest edges of confusion and fear as well as to the very depths of connection and love.

In this mesmerizing, emotional film that was shot in three continents and four languages - and traverses both the deeply personal and the explosively political -- acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Amores Perros) explores with shattering realism the nature of the barriers that seem to separate humankind. In doing so, he evokes the ancient concept of Babel and questions its modern day implications: the mistaken identities, misunderstandings and missed chances for communication that-- though often unseen-- drive our contemporary lives. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal, Kôji Yakusho, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi lead an international ensemble of actors and non-professional actors from Morocco, Tijuana and Tokyo, who enrich Babel's take on cultural diversity and enhance its powerful examination of the links and frontiers between and within us.

Customer Reviews:

Definitely worth watching!.......2007-06-12

I heard family and friends say it was boring, that it was horrible, that it wasn't worth watching. I bought it anyway. Great move!

I actually found myself rewinding seconds I missed by turning my head or by being interrupted by one of my furry felines. Every action and every word held my fascinated attention. Completely enthralling! High drama in its very best sense!

Drama, I say again. Yes, this is a story of how one rifle affects the lives of many very different people in many very different ways. The plot veers off into interesting directions and unexpected twists. It's a definite keeper and one I'll enjoy watching again and again.

Not recommended for the young, I think ... no real "action." I'm full-grown and into involving, dramatic storylines. Though I do have to regress momentarily to say I think Brad Pitt looks awesome with some gray streaking his hair! ;-)

just another "crash" movie.......2007-06-11

I thought the movie "Crash" was trash. And Babel is just like Crash, except with different circumstances and filmed in different places. Why does Hollywood always do movies in pairs? Don't waste your time with this. It was a free rental for me, so the only thing I lost was my time.

See BABEL. Reflect, meditate, be concerned. It is a GREAT Film........2007-06-10

I found BABEL to be hypnotic to the point that I wanted to see much more, and more. It touches not only your heart but also all the senses in your body and it will make you think twice about humanity.

EVOCATIVE! COMMANDING! DISTURBING! THOUGHTFUL! MARVELOUS! Babel is as close to a masterwork as you can get. Delicate elements of cinema are used harshly and sensibly; the music is HAUNTING, the actors are utterly compelling and every single one of them - stars or not - is brilliant. The story is universal and timely. We the people of this wonderful global community need each other. Every single one of us matters and are responsible for what is going on across the earth. Slowly we are melting into ONE, regardless of space or culture - regardless of our desires or stubbornness. Babel shows us how judgmental and irrational people can be, how innocence is lost and violence is present in every aspect of our life.

I loved how Iñárritu touched upon power and authority. Babel spans different cultures from various parts of the world and the authorities are extremely dissimilar. Just pay attention to the Moroccan Police Squad, the Japanese detectives and the United States border patrol. Amazing what you will discover, and it is up to you how will you interpret it. The sexual awakening of the characters, Amelia's sensible kiss at the wedding of her son, Yuseff's father's reaction to the shocking news and the "walk of desperation" in the hot California desert will never leave my psyche. It is etched there forever like any major event in my life.

Once in a great while we have a film that stands out from the rest, that is not only artistic and emotionally trenchant, but also goes beyond our expectations. BABEL holds up a large mirror for all of us to gaze in and understand who we really are.

Babel is a hymn to humanity, it is an elegy to our ONEness and interdependency.

The title says it al.......2007-06-05

Why waste words. The best thing that can be said about this movie is: NOTHING!

Emotionally moving and jarring.......2007-06-05

In a story that begins with an unexpected death, the audience never quite gets over that initial pain as further burdens are unloaded. Babel may just as well have been called Babble for its exploration of our own inability to communicate with one another, especially apparent in the American/Western distrust of all things not American or European. Brad Pitt is either aged or without make up and Cate Blanchett gives an amazing performance, but they are overshadowed by their lesser known costars who deservedly received academy award nominations. The circular aspect of the Morrocan/Mexican/American story is unexpected and beautifully done. While the Japanese piece of the tale seems somewhat disconnected for much of the film, it is one of the more painful views of missed communication, misunderstanding, and missed opportunities. The fact that the characters survive their ordeals is surprising given the severity of what happens to them in the course of the story. Their choices frequently seem wrong although one is hard pressed to defend an alternative ~ they are caught in a constant Catch-22. When all is resolved, the closure is brief because the emotion of the film remains raw. [Not recommended for a first date!]

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