Babel (1 Viewer)

[JonZ]

Babel was the first time Ive ever noticed the word "graphic" in those content descriptions.Goes to show how little Ive always paid attention to those little boxes.

 

[MandyHan]

I'm really hoping this movie is good. I planned to see it yesterday, but the weather was so crappy that I didnt even want to go outisde. Hopefully I can make it tonight.

 

[Dave Hackman]

Richard (Brad Pitt) and wife (Cate Blanchett) go to Morocco to do some sightseeing and to reconnect after a recent tragedy. Their young son and daughter are back home in California under the watchful eye of Amelia (Adriana Barraza) their nanny who in the next day or two will be traveling to Mexico to attend her son’s wedding. Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) a teenage deaf-mute living in Tokyo with her father is having a tough time meeting boys her age. She is also struggling with the recent death of her mother. A Moroccan father and his family purchase a gun with the intentions of protecting their herd from jackals.

These separate stories, all told at different moments in the actual timeline combine to tell a bigger story in which all are connected. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are nearly forgettable in their roles, as their characters did basically nothing for the duration of the film. I believe their star power is necessary to solidify your interest in what happens to their characters but they should have had more scripted things to do.

I have fond memories of viewing 21 Grams in the theater and consider it a fantastic film. Babel isn’t nearly as good or rewarding and I must attribute that to a story that doesn’t have much impact. The tension and desperation is never ramped up enough in any of the stories to pull any emotions out of you. That being said this is still worth seeing. One story may bore you as it did me but there is sure to be one that will keep you interested until the end.

Babel looks wonderful on the big screen with each location sparkling in its own unique detail. The casting and acting are perfect as is the manipulating of the multiple storylines. Love it or hate it, this story is hard to forget and is easy to discuss.

C+

 

[Tim Glover]

Whew. Brutal. Unsettling...disturbing....frustrating....choatic. ..sadness....bizarre....tragic....Unsettling.

It is truly expertly directed and acted. Some powerhouse performances.

This one takes awhile to really absorb it all and I really don't think I have yet. Brad Pitt was great in this. The scene where the bus leaves and he breaks down. Wow. Wow. Wow.

This is not one I would like to own but certainly glad I finally got to see it. Not sure it's among the best of the year with some dang good ones left out of the Best Picture Oscar race but Babel is still very good.

8.5/10.

 

[Tino]

I thought it was OK. The Moroccan storyline was far more interesting than the others in the film. It had the only character that I cared about.

Good but overrated imo.:star::star::star:

BTW I believe the graphic nudity applies more to the first crotch shot than the full frontal. The crotch shot was real graphic.

 

[Tim Glover]

Agree on the graphic scene Tino...

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Just watched this film for the first time on DVD this morning.

I found it to be rather unsettling, but at the same time, very
involving. I really enjoyed the film.

I am hoping someone can explain the only part of the
film I could not figure out (but perhaps I did)....


What was in the letter the Japanese girl wrote the detective?

My thought is it's a confession that she killed her Mother. I
base that on the fact that her father tells the detective she
was shot (rather than jumped off a balcony) and that the
daughter was the first person on the scene.


Did I figure that out correctly?

 

[Tino]

I don't think so Ron. If that were the case, I'm sure the detective would have reacted much differently. I think it was perhaps some kind of apology/ explanation for her behavior. I see no reason to believe she killed her mother. There is nothing in the film i believe to support that theory

 

[Tim Glover]

Good question though Ron...wonder what was on the letter indeed. It might have been just her unloading all her feelings about her mother's death and her own stuff becoming a lady? Who knows.

I agree that it was involving...One scene I failed to mention last night was the one where Cate B was in such pain and very upset...the older woman living there lights up a rather big cigar. This was obviously no swisher sweets ...but it was rather touching seeing this woman who spoke no english but yet could sense the fear, helplessness, and hurt in Cate. She comforted her and helped her rest. I was really moved when that happened.

 

[Joe D]

I watched this over the weekend and had mixed feelings about it.

A lot of comparisons were made between this film and Crash, and other than the newly popular interconnecting story line structure, the film lacks (thankfully) the heavy handed nature of Crash.

The problem of the film lies in the quality of the different story lines, the U.S. and Mexican view points are uninteresting, while the Japanese / Moroccan parts are very interesting.

I felt that both Cate and Brad were sleepwalking with their performances. While the actors did a good job in the Mexican storyline, the plot itself was dull as nothing happens until the very end. The writing of the film was questionable, particularly:
Cate gets shot, Brad takes her to a village where a doctor stitches her up, but they repeatadly wait for an ambulance that doesn't come. Brad refuses to move Cate via the bus, insisting on getting an ambulance. I fail to see how waiting in a hut for an ambulance that isn't coming is better than putting Cate back on a nice bus and driving to the nearest big city.

The U.S. storyline could have been very interesting, but instead it was just story filler.

The Moroccan storyline was very interesting, no complaints.

The deaf/mute Japanese storyline was the best of the bunch. The film did a great job portraying the difficulties of being deaf/mute during social as well as ordinary tasks such as going to a restaurant. The nightclub scene was spectacular in regards to its use of sound from the club's and the girl's perspective. The scene with the cop was also very good.

So ultimately, there is two four star flicks contained in the film right next to two duds.

:star: :star:.75 /:star: :star: :star: :star: