JIM reviews film "BABEL" -- A World of Misunderstandings cause much PAIN on the Planet

“BABEL” — A World of Misunderstandings cause much PAIN on the Planet

Rating: 9 of 10 stars (based on viewing an HD-DVD copy of the film) =

This 2006 film (the 3rd in a “trilogy” with “AMORES PERROS” & “21 GRAMS”) won the Best Director’s award at the CANNES Film Festival for ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU. It’s an impressively-done story of how seemingly-“small” incidents can lead to MAJOR consequences in a “domino” effect, with an interweaving of stories of at least 4 main groups / families:

A married couple from San Diego, Richard & Susan Jones (BRAD PITT & CATE BLANCHETT) are on a vacation in a bus touring a desert countryside area of Morocco. They’ve left their two young kids with their lifelong Mexican nanny Amelia (ADRIANA BARRAZA). In the desert, a goat-owner buys a rifle for safety from a local guide (who got it as a gift from a Japanese hunter). He lets his two sons carry the rifle to keep jackals away from his herd. But, the sons are very competitive, with the older teen Yussef (BOUBKER AIT EL CAID) trying to best his younger brother Ahmed (SAID TARCHANI) in shooting the gun.

Meanwhile, we’re introduced to the Japanese businessman who’d owned the rifle, Yasujiro Wataya (KÔJI YAKUSHO). He has a deaf-mute daughter Chieko (RINKO KIKUCHI) who has many emotional problems caused by the sudden death of her mother, and keeps “acting-out” with teenage boys & men (teasing them & the like to feel she’s “loved” or wanted).

As the story unfolds, the 2 Moroccan boys decide to test out the rifle by shooting at distant targets, one of which is a bus moving up a road. To their surprise, one shot HITS & severely injures someone in the bus, namely CATE. Since there is no hospital or ambulance available in the area, the tourist bus has to detour to a small town to try to get immediate help from a local doctor, infuriating a lot of the other tourists on the bus who want to be getting on their way.

The injury to Cate causes a huge change in Brad’s travel plans, & he calls back home to the nanny saying she needs to stay longer to take care of his KIDS since he can’t get home as expected. But nanny ADRIANA is scheduled to attend the wedding of her son in Mexico. She tries to find someone else to care for the kids, but can’t find anyone reliable to do that, & reluctantly asks her nephew Santiago (GAEL GARCÍA BERNAL) to let the kids join them in driving to the wedding across the border. The kids soon see & enjoy “another world”, thanks to the many friendly people & events at the wedding.

Meantime, from Brad’s having reported the shooting to the American embassy, a report circulates around the world that it was “TERRORISTS” who’d shot at the bus. That gets the Moroccan authorities very upset & involved, since they don’t want their tourist trade hurt by “terrorism” problems, & they go around the countryside with a “heavy hand” in trying to find just WHO the “terrorists” are. In the meantime, Brad keeps trying to find more competent medical help for Cate, & consistently fights with the tourists who want to leave in the bus which Brad feels may be needed to move Cate elsewhere.

Naturally, things keep “spiraling” ever more out of control with the various groups: the Japanese girl keeps having more and more emotional problems; and the rifle-toting Moroccan kids keeping trying to hide the facts of what they’d done + hide the gun which the local authorities are angrily searching for…

Meanwhile, in Mexico, when Gael tries to drive Amanda & the kids back to the U.S., the Border Patrol finds Amanda doesn’t have the proper DOCUMENTS needed for the kids, having been an illegal immigrant in the U.S. for the past 16 years. Gael (who’s somewhat inebriated) PANICS, & tries to run away from the cops in the car, thus causing Amanda & the kids to be stuck in the dangerously hot DESERT near the border as Gael drives off to distract the Patrol guys…

Will Cate get the MEDICAL help she needs?… Will the Moroccan kids & their father escape from the POLICE who are chasing them?… Will the Japanese girl SURVIVE the growing problems in her life?… Will Amanda & the kids be SAVED from the Mexican border desert?… Well, you’ll have to see the MOVIE to get those answers…

The film’s title is based on the theoretical “biblical” idea that there was once “one language” that people spoke, & the bedlam-like problems that have arisen since people became “DIVIDED” in their ability to speak & truly understand each other & their customs…

But, the most important thing I want to point out is the excellent work done in MAKING the film, by the actors involved & in the finely effective storytelling of how easy it is for MISUNDERSTANDINGS to grow up in our world, & what that can “lead” to thru an unexpected variety of “shared destinies” on this minor little planet…

As to “EXTRAS” on the DVD, I was looking forward to things like a Director’s commentary, deleted scenes, additional information about the making of the film, etc— & thus was quite DISAPPOINTED that there was nothing other than a “Theatrical Trailer” on this version…