Babel (2006)
“They look at us like we’re monsters”
A film dedicated to his children, Iñárritu’s third and most critically panned film (unfairly so) sees a constantly used theme of entirely unconnected lives becoming tangled and joined. There are in essence four separate stories, across three continents and in several different languages. Before I detail as plot spoiler free as possible, and of course wax lyrical on an astonishing film, there are two key issues of note, and both are changes from the Director. Firstly, though still a complicated and complex narrative structure, it is less fractured than previous films and though there are several flashback/forward sequences, the structure is more traditional and linear.
As is the use of a more detailed musical score, and the soundtrack to the film is a joy, richly cosmopolitan as you would expect, and the first time I’ve noticed and been so engaged with the music in an Iñárritu film. Gustavo Santaolalla deserves great credit for both the score and rich mix in the choice of soundtrack, and has worked with the Director on all four of his films to date. As has Director of Photography Rodrigo Prieto who shoots every varying location here brilliantly.
Starting in Morocco with a family of goat herders, to a tourist couple traversing the nearby mountain roads, to their children happy at home in San Diego and a teenager in Tokyo coming to terms with the early death of her mother. Lingering wide shots of the wide open Moroccan landscape and its intricate and busy local village merge quickly to suburban USA before being quickly replaced by the bustling madness across the border into Mexico. But it’s Japan/Tokyo that really impresses, with wide crane shots of the city merging into the busy and vibrant metropolis below. The excellent score/soundtrack blends with their locations perfectly, and again Tokyo stands out with a louder, more cosmopolitan score.
“Richard Jones” (Brad Pitt) and “Sue Jones” (Cate Blanchett) are a distant and seemingly estranged couple sharing a vacation in Morocco as their two children are being looked after by family Nanny “Amelia” (an excellent Adriana Barraza). Gael Garcia Bernal returns after starring in Amores Perros as “Santiago”. But the star is Rinko Kikuchi as Japanese teenager “Chieko” and is truly the heartbeat of the film. Rebellious and at odds with her Father after the death of her Mother, she portrays a deaf/mute teenager trying desperately to comes to terms with her incredible loss whilst shunned and tormented publicly for her condition with an incredible performance. Whenever she is on screen she simply draws you into the film. Growing up and desperate for her own identity, her performance borders on a quiet rage! Often only able to communicate with strangers by writing what she wants to say on a notepad and many separate scenes completely silent with Chieko centre stage, it’s a stunning performance and encapsulates the film’s main theme of language and communication. The screenplay was written by regular collaborator Guillermo Arriaga, however both Arriaga and Iñárritu have disputed who penned the previous film 21 Grams and no longer work together. The film was nominated for seven Oscars in 2008 with Gustavo Santaolalla winning for his fantastic musical score.
English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Japanese and sign language are all present and it’s no coincidence that the universally accepted language of English seems the most fractured and most difficult to convey. A nod to the title is clearly the biblical story of the Tower of Babel where God replaced a single language with many thousands and scattering them around the earth. That allegory is clear and constantly repeated throughout this masterclass of a film.
Another Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu film that splits an audience, I truly loved this film from the moment it started.
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Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.
In the days before he won the Oscar....