Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10258 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-05-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 138 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Brilliantly conceived, superbly directed, and beautifully acted, Babel is inarguably one of the best films of 2006. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and his co-writer, Guillermo Arriaga (the two also collaborated on Amores Perros and 21 Grams) weave together the disparate strands of their story into a finely hewn fabric by focusing on what appear to be several equally incongruent characters: an American (Brad Pitt) touring Morocco with his wife (Cate Blanchett) become the focus of an international incident also involving a hardscrabble Moroccan farmer (Mustapha Rachidi) struggling to keep his two young sons in line and his family together. A San Diego nanny (Adriana Barraza), her employers absent, makes the disastrous decision to take their kids with her to a wedding in Mexico. And a deaf-mute Japanese teen (the extraordinary Rinko Kikuchi) deals with a relationship with her father (Koji Yakusho) and the world in general that's been upended by the death of her mother. It is perhaps not surprising, or particularly original, that a gun is the device that ties these people together. Yet Babel isn't merely about violence and its tragic consequences. It's about communication, and especially the lack of it--both intercultural, raising issues like terrorism and immigration, and intracultural, as basic as husbands talking to their wives and parents understanding their children. Iñárritu's command of his medium, sound and visual alike, is extraordinary; the camera work is by turns kinetic and restrained, the music always well matched to the scenes, the editing deft but not confusing, and the film (which clocks in at a lengthy 143 minutes) is filled with indelible moments. Many of those moments are also pretty stark and grim, and no will claim that all of this leads to a "happy" ending, but there is a sense of reconciliation, perhaps even resolution. "If You Want to be Understood... Listen," goes the tagline. And if you want a movie that will leave you thinking, Babel is it. --Sam Graham

Synopsis
BABEL is the crowning achievement in the trilogy from the unstoppable creative pairing of screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, which also includes AMORES PERROS and 21 GRAMS. High up in the Moroccan mountains, two young boys--the sons of a local herdsman--are randomly test-firing a rifle their father has entrusted them with. As they take aim at a vehicle in the distance, they are blissfully unaware of the chain of events they will set into motion as one of the brothers pulls the trigger. Moments earlier, Richard and Susan (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett)--a wealthy couple from San Diego--are seen travelling across the desert when their coach is shot at and Susan is badly injured. Distraught and panic-stricken, Richard calls home to inform their Mexican maid Amelia (Adriana Barraza) of the situation and to ask her to look after their two children. However, this couldn’t have come at a worse time for Amelia, who is expected at her son’s wedding in Mexico that same day. Torn between her responsibilities to her employers and her familial obligations, she decides to attend the wedding with Richard and Susan’s children in tow. But disaster strikes when she is stopped at the border control, suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants into America. Meanwhile, the shooting in Morocco has escalated into an international incident, with the media crying terrorism. Half way around the world in Tokyo, another story is unfolding, this time involving the original owner of the rifle (Koji Yakusho) and his rebellious deaf daughter (Rinko Kikuchi). Building upon its predecessors’ method of weaving together disparate storylines, BABEL reaches new heights of ambition with a tale that, in the absence of traditional narrative and protagonist, relies on numerous incredible performances to evoke an affecting relevance by framing contemporary issues in very human struggles and mistakes. The result is an intimate, emotional experience that would approach melodrama were it not rendered so realistically. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto’s colour palette masterfully captures the muted tones of the harsh natural landscapes of Morocco and the Mexican border, as well as the fluorescent lights of Tokyo that denote another, equally barren, end of the spectrum. The misunderstandings born of cultural, language, and class barriers are on par with those that occur between family members, depicting a world that, while connected in the least expected of ways, is also faced with a deep-seated crisis that threatens to alienate humanity from itself.

Customer Reviews

A Beautiful Film!!
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started watching this film after reading the mixed reviews, but I must say this is a really beautifully directed and acted film. The film focuses on four different stories, which as the film progresses shows how they are all linked. Babel lasts for over 2 hours which might test some people's patience but I never felt bored. It is hard to explain, because I wouldn't say the film was gripping or exciting, but yet you couldn't help being engrossed in each story and really feeling for the characters. There isn't any `big' ending, with a lot of issues still unresolved which I found a bit frustrating. I would definitely recommend this film if you are looking for something thought provoking, maybe avoid if you like typical Hollywood films.

The Sounds of Silence
Amores Perros announced the coming of a maverick young director, 21 Grams - his `mainstream' English language follow up - cemented his reputation as a talented film maker and now Babel, seemingly a continuation of his meditation on human failings and hardship, Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest has bagged him the Director's Prize at this Years Cannes film festival. And it's easy to see why.

Worthy, weighty and moralistic themes seem to be Iñárritu's forte, as are sumptuous visuals and complicated overlapping storylines (there are four to contend with here). The principle catalyst, for this study of communication, revolves around two young Moroccan brothers who inadvertently kick-start a series of events that change the lives of, seemingly unrelated, people in Mexico, Tokyo and California.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett star as a bereaved couple, clearly hanging on to their dissolving marriage by the skin of their teeth, who try escaping their grief in the Moroccan landscapes, where the local language and culture are a constant riddle. It takes tragedy to get them sharing their feelings once more. Another tale involves a Mexican nanny (Adriana Barraza) working illegally in the US. In trying to get to her son's wedding, she makes a seemingly harmless choice to bring two American children with her across the Mexican border alongside nephew Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal). Lastly, following the sudden death of her mother, a young, deaf, Japanese girl struggles with her burgeoning sexuality and in maintaining a relationship with her apparently distant father.

To a cynic these links are at best tenuous but to Iñárritu they underpin his belief, as in his two previous pieces, that everyone is fundamentally linked, no matter how isolated or individual they may feel. The four main stories here are far easier to follow than the tricksy 21 Grams but the Mexican auteur swaps the themes of guilt, vengeance, fate and grief for miscommunication, isolation and erm well yes guilt and fate. It could be easy to dismiss Babel as a critical sideswipe at American foreign policy, when Iñárritu's intended message on the necessity of clear communication is the more likely statement.

Babel is stunningly shot by cinematographer, Rodrigo Prieto, making startling use of the Moroccan desert and desolate Mexican border territory. Preito also manages to show a different side to the neon lit expanse of Tokyo but, like a sheep in wolf's clothing, Babel tries to be more complicated than it need be, when essentially its sermon: `its good to talk' was coined by British Telecom years ago. Babel also appears to overreach in it's determination to forge the links the screenplay requires. That said the ensemble cast put in some terrific, subtle, measured performances and Iñárritu's stark, detached direction and quartet of intricately woven tales are again a marvellous technical achievement.

Just don't expect to care that much.

Babel
'Babel' is a slow paced, slightly melancholy film that follows four different stories and the links between them. It is a lot more coherent to watch than '21 Grams' which was made by the same director and makes this more enjoyable as a result. The stories are a touch aimless at times and the endings, whilst linking up well, aren't very powerful. But I guess life is like that, you have events that have a major impact and then you keep on going, plus we are a lot more connected than we first realise. I guess that is what this film is trying to put across. The performances were excellent, especially Chieko, the japanese deaf-mute girl, where you really feel her frustrations and vulnerability and Brad Pitt who is better than I thought he'd be. The soundtrack, which is quite sparse, allowing the atmosphere of the film to permeate through, was moving when it had to be and was far enough in the background when most appropriate. The ending piece of music was especially moving and added perfectly to the final scene. This is a good film and worth a watch, it has no definite beginning, middle and end, but that in no way detracts from the various stories and their impact, although I feel that may have disappointed other reviewers here. Give it a view and decided for yourself, especially if you like the feel of '21 Grams' but not the convoluted or confusing storyline.