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Babel
Babel has been denounced as sanctimonious, politically correct rubbish; it's been compared to Crash by people who don't mean that as a compliment. Certainly the title is portentous. Who thought up the silly title? Five different languages are spoken in this film, it's true, but all of the characters seem to understand each other perfectly well. And Babel ultimately presents a picture of order, not chaos, though you may not like its notion of order. It's about power relations, between classes and nations and individuals. Is Babel a grand commentary on geopolitics, on the powerful and the disempowered? If it's trying to do that (and I'm not sure it's even trying), it fails. But Babel works as a collection of remarkable relationships and situations, beautifully acted, photographed and edited. A wealthy California couple (Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt) are trapped in a small Moroccan village when a random act of violence interrupts their bus tour. Their housekeeper, back in San Diego, has to look after the kids; she also has to attend her son's wedding, across the border. So she does both, with disastrous results. Meanwhile in Tokyo, a willful, rich, orphaned deaf girl is consumed with what Ibsen called "the spirit of living." (Babel dabbles in cliches and gimmicks regarding voice and deafness and then retreats from them, fortunately.) The Japanese plot also connects to the Morocco story; you'll have to wait to see how.
Gringo megastars Pitt and Blanchett have little screen time. Cate Blanchett is a great actress; she is actually most striking in her most mundane scenes, sitting across a cafe table from her husband, exuding boredom and distaste. Pitt seems to rise to her level; he's nuanced and entirely credible. The true stars of the film are unknowns: Adriana Barraza, who plays the housekeeper, and, Rinko Kikuchi, tremendous as the deaf girl. The Moroccan actors, especially the children, are expressive and well directed.
©2006 Les Phillips |
Mexico looks like Morocco (both beautifully photographed); Tokyo, the only city we really see, is busy and ugly. All three plot strands feature parents, neglected children, surrogate parents; there are extremes of wealth and poverty; a sense of jihad hovers in the background; the powerful become disempowered, and vice versa. The most articulate cry of disempowerment comes from a girl who has no spoken language. 
Crash was not without its moments, but it shoved sanctimony and message down the gullet. Babel presents rich material, and leaves you to draw your conclusions. The scope of the film may seem too fancy or clever, but Babel is rich in old-fashioned plot, character, obligation, kinship, betrayal. Enjoy.