Real Kato Blog: Movies: Babel

Art film? Social commentary? It's a stunning film, but what's it all about?

"Babel" is the completion of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu's "death trilogy", which includes "Amores Perros" and "21 Grams". The movie has four interconnected plot lines. A rebellious deaf-mute Japanese girl (Chieko Wataya, played by Rinko Kikuchi) struggles to feel attractive and a part of "normal" society. Chieko's father sold a rifle some years ago to a Morrocan, who in turn sold the rifle to a goat-herding family (Abdullah, played by Mustapha Rachidi, and his teenage sons Yussef and Ahmed, played by Boubker Ait El Caid and Said Tarchani) to kill jackals. The sons accidentally shoot an American tourist (Susan Jones, played by Cate Blanchett). Susan Jones and her husband Richard (Brad Pitt) have left their children in the care of their nanny Amelia (Adriana Barraza), who takes them into Mexico to attend her son's wedding.

So what's the movie about? Well, really, not much.

Call it a slice-of-life drama, a visual art piece, a morality play... but in all, I couldn't really understand what the movie was trying to say. Life is hard? Bad things happen? The plot lines are interesting and the interconnectedness is clever, but the movie is a bit self-indulgent at times and the plot is unfocused. I liked the cinematography and the acting, but at the end I just wanted something more, like maybe a "Koyaanisqatsi"-ish revelation about the world.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

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