I feel bad that I wasn't more impressed by this
movie, because there are many great elements in Babel,
but its shortcomings are too numerous to overcome. I had
extremely high expectations of Iñárritu's latest
film, having loved Amores Perros and 21 Grams,
and generally being a fan of multiple-plot movies, which are
all the rave now. I wanted this to be the best film of the
year. Sadly, Babel disappoints on virtually every
level.
The film focuses on three main stories, two
of which are closely related and the third which doesn't tie
in as much. First we have the tale of Richard (Brad Pitt)
and Susan (Cate Blanchett), two wealthy American tourists
in Morocco. When Susan is injured by a stray bullet while
on a bus tour, the couple are thrown into the third-world
where everyone fights for their lives on a daily basis. Meanwhile,
their children's nanny Amelia (Adriana Barraza), faced with
Richard & Susan's prolonged stay, takes the children with
her nephew (Gael García Bernal) to her son's wedding
in Mexico. On the other side of the world, a deaf-mute Japanese
schoolgirl named Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) tries to be a part
of the hearing world, and discover her burgeoning sexuality.
The problem with this particular woven narrative
is that, in an effort to make the themes universal and worldwide,
Iñárritu has spread everything too thin, and
the connections meant to tie the characters together are too
flimsy to hold their weight. The film lacks both the political
conviction and focus of last year's Syriana and the
interwoven tightness of Oscar-winner Crash. Were
Babel to focus on just one of the many political or human
issues it touches on, from immigration, to class entitlement,
and parent/child relationships, it would perhaps be more cathartic
and moving. Instead, the film is all over the place, and ends
without the same power and emotion as either Iñárritu's
earlier films, or others like them.
While the title of the film, and the marketing
tagline, "If you want to be understood ... Listen"
may indicate that the film has something to say about communication,
it deals very little with it. Of course there are the language
barriers that many of the characters encounter, but for the
most part, the film doesn't follow through with what appears
to have been the intention of the filmmakers.
I must say that though the direction from Iñárritu
is a bit heavy-handed (he uses overcranking with "heartstrings"
music in virtually every scene,) many of the performances
were quite impressive, especially from the lesser known stars.
Asian actress Rinko Kikuchi did a phenomenal job depicting
the frustrations of a real-life teenager, and did so without
speaking, which was even more admirable. While the character
did some far-fetched things that I don't know if I'd celebrate
screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga for including, Kikuchi remained
restrained and true to the character, and I never doubted
her or her motivations. The same can be said of Adriana Barraza,
who showed such emotion that she truly stole the show. That's
a lot to say of someone who shares many scenes with Gael García
Bernal, but she was so powerful I was disheartened whenever
the film would cut to a different storyline.
I don't want to be too negative of the film,
because, as I said, there are many powerful elements. The
cinematography is first rate, and Rodrigo Prieto is living
up to the reputation he has built with his past work with
Iñárritu and last year's Oscar nominated Brokeback
Mountain. Amelia's bright red wedding dress against the
glowing azure sky in the harsh Mojave desert is an image that
will stay with me for a long time.
Overall, though, this film is extremely predictable
in its formula, and comes across as muddled and unclear at many
points throughout. It's certainly one of the best films of the
year, which is a triumph, but it fails in many of its own ambitions,
and for that no comparison to other works of cinema are needed.
It seems worthy of praise to a certain degree, but I certainly
don't agree with it winning any Best Picture or Best Director
awards.
