Babel DVD Review

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"Babel" reviews

DVD

Babel

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-05-18 15:00:39

Provider

DVD Review

When Amores Perros and 21 Grams director Alejandro González Iñárritu took the reins for this triple-stranded film - the final part of his human trilogy tragedy - it was never going to be straightforward.

It's all sparked by a bullet from a rifle in the hands of the child of a Moroccan goat-herder hitting a tour bus and wounding Susan (Cate Blanchett), an American tourist holidaying (and hiding from depression) with husband Richard (Brad Pitt). They're forced to take refuge in a remote village where help is hours away while the media paint a story of terrorism against American citizens. Back in California they've done some irresponsible parenting of their own, Their children are with their unregistered Mexican nanny Amelia (Adriana Barraza), who takes herself and them over the border to attend her son's wedding, driven by her impetuous nephew Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal). On their return they're stopped by the border patrol and Santiago panics.

The third interwoven strand is in Tokyo: Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), a deaf mute schoolgirl, is struggling with the death of her mother and her sexual identity. At 'that age' her desperately clumsy attempts to find a sexual partner lead her into a club world for which she's ill-equipped and the arms of a policeman.

Babel is an extremely ambitious film. Cumbersome, uneven, predictable, unbelievable and at the same time compassionate, unnerving, insightful and moving. Iñárritu's vision is on one hand achieved within the first 40 minutes and on the other never fully realised. A lack of depth and caring for the characters results from the overt focus on the 'fables' parallels and their (somewhat simplistic) connectivity. Alongside the obsessive message of the contradiction in the modern day collapse of communication - when people talk but don't listen - the film becomes a failed classic. Undeniable is the passion and collective spirit of the film's makers and performers. It comes through powerfully on the significant 'construction' extra - a 90-minute making of - and it's what really gives you an insight into this film. Ironically, it's the antithesis of the film's theme and worth the price of the DVD alone.

Though likely to turn up on film-making courses and on the shelves of thoughtful cinephiles, this dense and thought-provoking film is unlikely to make it onto any holiday season viewing schedules.