Babel

With his first two films, Amores Perros and 21 Grams, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu proved that he is a master filmmaker. With his latest film, Babel, he continues the trend. This film, as well as the first two, was written by the great screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. This is the third in a trilogy of films where several stories connect on many levels.

The film starts out in Morocco. A shepherd buys a gun from a friend. He wants to use it to keep wild animals away from his sheep. He gives the gun to his two young sons and tells them to use it if they have to. The gun is supposed to hit targets that are far away. The boys want to see just how far the bullets will fly and shoot at a few targets. Then one of them shoots a moving tourist bus and succeeds in hitting it.

Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are a married couple from the US who are vacationing in Morocco. They are trying to save their marriage. Things aren't going very well for them. They are on the tour a bus when a shot fired from a gun hits Susan in the neck. The tour bus has to make a detour in order to find help for the injured woman.

Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is the nanny for Richard and Susan's two children. She knows that the couple cannot come back at the scheduled time from Morocco because of Susan's injury. But Richard has guaranteed her that Susan's sister Rachel will come to take care of the kids so that Amelia can go to Mexico for her son's wedding. It turns out that Rachel can't come. Because Amelia can't find anyone to take care of the kids she decides to take them with her. Amelia's hot headed nephew Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal) drives them to the wedding and they have a great time. Despite being drunk he decides to drive them back to San Diego.

Chieko (Rinko Kukichi) is a deaf teenager who lives with her father (Kuji Yakusho) in Tokyo. Her mother committed suicide and she a very unhappy girl. She does some very odd things when she tries to attract those of the male persuasion.

And that is all I will tell you about the four stories. If you want to know how the Japanese story fits in with all of the others then you will have to see the film.

Babel is an extremely intense film. When I came out of the film I was emotionally drained - and that is how I should have felt. Babel is an amazing ride. I sometimes felt like I was on a roller coaster. Babel is brutal and beautiful at the same time. The obvious conclusion would be to say that the film shows us how just one event can affect many lives. And that is true. But the film is so much more than that. In fact, I can't wait to get the DVD so I can watch it again and see what I missed the first time around.

All of the acting is outstanding. Pitt gives his best performance ever. And although everyone is great the best acting comes from Barraza and Kukichi. However, I don't know if either of them will get nominated for awards because this is truly an ensemble piece.

And I should mention that the cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto is unbelievable. The way he photographs Tokyo in particular is absolutely amazing.

Babel is not a film for everyone. In fact, I don't think it is for the average filmgoer. For one thing, only some of the film is in English. The rest of the film is in Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Berber and sign language (all with subtitles). And it is very heavy. But if you go to the movies not just to be entertained but to exercise your brain then this is a film for you.

One final comment - this is the last film that Inarittu and Arriaga will make together. They have decided to go their separate ways. And while that is a bit sad I look forward to seeing what these two talented men do on their own (Arriaga already won an award for his great The Three Burials screenplay, which was directed by Tommy Lee Jones, at last year's Cannes Film Festival).