DVD
REVIEW: BABEL
(SPECIAL
EDITION)
09/23/07
In Babel, director Alejandro
González Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga create a
jigsaw puzzle centered on four stories that are all in
someway interconnected. As with Amores Perros and 21 Grams,
Babel entwines multiple stories that simultaneously engage
and bewilder the mind. Babel is a true masterpiece in
filmmaking that covers the full spectrum of what truly makes
the 21st century a modern day Tower of Babel.
In Babel, Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are
vacationing in Morocco when their tour bus is hit by a stray
bullet. The tourists on the bus assume it is some sort of
terrorist attack. Up on top on the Atlas mountains where the
bullet came from, two boys are given a rifle by their father
Abdullah. Abdullah bought the rifle from a neighbor to fend
of the jackals attaching his goats. The boys, having nothing
better to do and feeling bored, begin shooting at the cars
below. Back in San Diego Richard and Susan’s nanny, Amelia,
is anxiously awaiting her relief, because she needs to be in
Tijuana in time for her son’s wedding. For obvious reasons
Richard says that plans have changed and he can’t find a
replacement and as a result she must remain with the
children. Finally, in Tokyo a deaf teenager named Chicko
deals with the suicide of her mother and a despondent father
with unabashed, unrestrained sexual behavior.
Babel examines the obstacles interfering in making human
connections. The main obstacle as the film’s title implies
is language. Featuring no less than five languages: English,
Spanish, Arabic, Japanese and Sign, Alejandro emphasis that
the language barrier is not easy to overcome and while his
message is a bit pretentious it can be simply summarized as:
language tied together with cultural different creates a
prejudice that is not easy to overcome.
The look of this movie is darn near perfect and Rodrigo
Prieto, the cinematographer did an excellent job. His shots
of Tokyo and how he captured the florescent lights really
brought the city to life and it’s a shame the Academy failed
to recognize this achievement. There were also a bunch of
outstanding performances one of them being by none other
than Brad Pitt. His portrayal of Richard is pitch perfect.
Chicko, the deaf teenager, gave a mesmerizing performance.
The most natural performances of all were given by Yusser,
Ahmed and Abdullah. You really do feel for them by the time
their story ends. This movie really makes you care about the
characters like Amelia, the nanny, that after years of
working so hard for a better life, that life is taken away
in a blink of an eye by a small random circumstance. This is
not a traditional Hollywood movie, and will probably leave
many viewers use to cookie cutter plots unsatisfied, but
rest assure Babel is a thought provoking film that sets the
stage for endless discussion.
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English 5.1 and 2.0 Surround,French
Dubbed
Subtitles English/Spanish
BONUS FEATURES:
COMMON GROUND:
Under Construction Notes:
An
excellent documentary on the movie making process featuring
a feature length video diary where the director discusses
various aspects of the day to day production. Also, various
cast members discuss their characters.(1:27:40)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
| FILM REVIEW |
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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| BONUS
FEATURES |
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Review
By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com
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