Babel (2006)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Babel (2006) – A. G. Iñárritu

Iñárritu weaves together four seemingly disparate stories that link somewhat incidentally (but also consequentially).  Each tale is filled with tension as characters engage in actions that you know they should not – that could and sometimes will end badly.  Beginning in Morocco, we see two kids playing with a high powered rifle.  Enough said.  Then, in San Diego, a Mexican nanny needs to go to her son’s wedding but her employers forbade her to go, leading her to take their kids to Mexico with her.  Uh-oh. Back in Morocco, tourist Cate Blanchett is accidentally shot through the window of the bus she and Brad Pitt are travelling in.   Damn. Finally, deaf-mute Rinko Kikuchi gradually unravels in Tokyo trying to cope with the suicide of her mother and just plain being a teenage girl.  Hmmmm.  Although each tale on its own is rather gripping, well shot, and well acted, the sum of the parts does not entirely cohere.  Sure, you could draw parallels if you made the effort, but it shouldn’t be this unclear. Drawing from the title, one could probably conclude that the message of the film is that communication between humans is inevitably problematic, both across and within cultures.  No kidding.