Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza,
Gael García Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi, Kôji Yakusho
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
Produced by Jon Kilik, Steve Golin,
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Certification US R | UK 15 | Australia MA15+
Runtime 142 minutes
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Already picking up some Oscar buzz — and justifiably so — Babel is a film of BIG issues. Four separate stories unfold, and director Alejandro González Iñárritu — he of Amores Perros and 21 Grams fame — does his usual juggling of timelines to craft something really quite breathtaking. As the name suggests — well, to Bible readers and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fans — the film as a whole is about communication, issues and the interconnect- edness of all things while the individual strands focus on the minutiae of very different lives.
An American tourist (Cate Blanchett) is shot while travelling through Morocco and her husband (Brad Pitt) is trying to find the urgent medical care his injured wife so desperately needs – and attempting to come to terms with the state of their marriage. Back in the US, with no babysitter available, the couple’s maid (Adriana Barraza) is forced to take their kids back to Mexico for her son's wedding. A simple trip that rapidly descends into immigration problems. In Morocco, the story focuses on two small boys who are given a gun to protect the family's goats from jackals but, instead, take a potshot at a tourist bus. Finally, in perhaps the most arresting tale, a deaf Japanese girl Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) tries to deal with her feeling of isolation following her mother’s suicide.
Inarritu peels away layer after layer, gradually revealing the story’s unexpected catalyst and that Buttrfly Effect where a single, small act can resonate around the world. And it's mesmerising. By the time Chieko commits her final painful act of silent desperation, you’ll have found your heart ripped apart and put back together in ways you never thought possible. And you’ll find yourself dwelling on it all for months to come. Babel, if you’ll excuse the pun, is a towering success.