Country of Origin: USA, Japan, Mexico, and Morocco
Unjustly compared to the atrocity that was Paul Haggis' "Crash" (2004), "Babel" offers a layered and less preachy portrait of communication. As obviously illustrated in the theatrical trailer, the theme of cross-cultural miscommunication is presented as a source of disastrous consequences; but what Iñárritu attempts to do throughout the film is to use this theme to mask the underlying importance of familial understanding. It seems to me that the lack of communication within various families is at the core of all the events that transpire over the course of the film; the language barriers serve only to worsen the already existent problems. While both "Crash" and "Babel" are clearly manipulative in their presentation of serious matters (racism and communication, respectively), the various plots in "Babel" are loosely connected and less forced. In the end, I can only assume that Iñárritu is suggesting that society should focus on solving the matters of the home (or on a more broad note, that which is personal) before attempting to address cultural or worldly matters. In many ways, it is much easier to understand Iñárritu's motivations and incentives than it is to comprehend the obviousness of Haggis' plea.
For those who are interested in the film, it should be advised that the theatrical trailer is gross misrepresentation. Personally, I found the film to be a pleasant surprise, but others may be disappointed with the graphic and intense presentation of conflict. It should also be noted that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett have much smaller contributions to the film than one would expect; nevertheless, the international cast is extremely talented and in many ways superior to their American co-stars. Impressive as always is Gael García Bernal who is gradually becoming one of the most sought after actors of his generation.
Unjustly compared to the atrocity that was Paul Haggis' "Crash" (2004), "Babel" offers a layered and less preachy portrait of communication. As obviously illustrated in the theatrical trailer, the theme of cross-cultural miscommunication is presented as a source of disastrous consequences; but what Iñárritu attempts to do throughout the film is to use this theme to mask the underlying importance of familial understanding. It seems to me that the lack of communication within various families is at the core of all the events that transpire over the course of the film; the language barriers serve only to worsen the already existent problems. While both "Crash" and "Babel" are clearly manipulative in their presentation of serious matters (racism and communication, respectively), the various plots in "Babel" are loosely connected and less forced. In the end, I can only assume that Iñárritu is suggesting that society should focus on solving the matters of the home (or on a more broad note, that which is personal) before attempting to address cultural or worldly matters. In many ways, it is much easier to understand Iñárritu's motivations and incentives than it is to comprehend the obviousness of Haggis' plea.
For those who are interested in the film, it should be advised that the theatrical trailer is gross misrepresentation. Personally, I found the film to be a pleasant surprise, but others may be disappointed with the graphic and intense presentation of conflict. It should also be noted that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett have much smaller contributions to the film than one would expect; nevertheless, the international cast is extremely talented and in many ways superior to their American co-stars. Impressive as always is Gael García Bernal who is gradually becoming one of the most sought after actors of his generation.
The trailer can be found at the following link:
4 comments:
I think that this movie would be very interesting to watch. The story looks good and it has a good cast. What I found to be interesting about this movie is the title and the fact that communication (or probably lack of) is a big highlight. "Babel" acutually comes from the bible,and it says that man tried to build a tower (called the Tower of Babel)tall enough to reach heaven so that they eouldn't have to wait to die to go. God became angry because of this and separated man all over the world and gave them all different languages so that they couldn't communicate with one another, and that's how the bible tells of creation of different languages. I thought that this was intersting!
You didn't like crash? That was a great movie!
Unfortunately, I thought "Crash" was unrelenting in its heavy-handed presentation of racism. The pretentions worsened with the overly-coincidental plot; apparently, Haggis attempted to justify this by claiming his film is a fable -- I don't buy it. "Babel," on the other hand, attempts to say something more noble about cultural differences, but again, I do acknowledge the coincidental plot as a weakness.
I watched this movie last week. I found it a little slow for my liking, although it was a Wednesday night and I was exhausted and really just wanted to watch a movie to fall asleep. I definitely enjoyed the movie though! I wish that they went a little more into the japanese girl though. Her behaviours really puzzled me. I understand too though that her connection was fairly minor.
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