Review of Babel (2006) by Jacob C — 25 Jan 2014

Thematically, Babel is one of the richest films I have ever seen. Its four narratives revolve around two themes: cause and effect and language. The language barrier is involved to varying degrees in the different narratives. In Morocco, Richard is unable to get help for his wife Susan after she is shot because he knows no Arabic. Meanwhile, in Japan Chieko is a deaf-mute that struggles communicating with anyone except her friends. She often internalizes her difficulty and is lonesome, longing for a sexual relationship. In Mexico, Santiago is unable to reason at all with a border officer and, as a result, has to risk the lives of his aunt Amelia and the children in her care. All of these narratives are weaved together by one cause: Susan's shooting. Amelia never would have needed to take the two children (who are Richard and Susan's) to her son's wedding in Mexico if it weren't for them not being able to come home from Morocco. Chieko never would have revealed her inner struggle to a police officer if he hadn't come looking for her father, whose rifle was used in the shooting. And two Moroccan boys would never have been able to shoot Susan if it weren't for Chieko's father giving one of their father's friends his gun. However, these connections make the film's plot hard to follow at times, making the viewer strain to see the relation.

Every other aspect of the movie is top-notch. The cinematography is excellent and accurately captures the different tones of each individual story. The script is excellent because of it multilingualism, as four languages are used: English, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese. The score also captures the location of each narrative, with the local musical preference being used for each location. The acting is also stupendous, with Brad Pitt giving the best performance of his entire career. Honestly, this is one amazing movie. It's definitely not for everyone because of its depth, but those who can read between the lines will love this one. I know I did.