message in the movies By Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

              
Babel.  Rated R
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett.

Photos © Copyright Paramount Classics
The Bible tells the story in Genesis 11 about a time when everyone on earth spoke the same language and decided, rather than following God, to “make a name for ourselves”.  A tall tower was built as a testament to their pride, but God toppled it down, scattering the people and confusing their language so that no one could understand one another.  It is a type of irony that we have the means of understanding at our fingertips and yet we still use our speech and cultures in divisive ways.  Babel is a long film that tells four different (and yet interrelated) stories that take place on three continents with six different languages (and English subtitles for much of the film).  Each story involves a crisis in which cross-cultural communication will play a part.  The first story involves an affluent American couple (Pitt and Blanchett) whose shaky marriage is tested when they experience an emergency situation while vacationing in Morocco.  Another story is about a nanny who jeopardizes the children under her care by taking them with her to a wedding.  The third story involves two young boys whose lives are shaken by accidental violence, and the fourth tale is a harrowing depiction of a young girl’s risky passage of adolescence.  Each story is suspenseful and vivid, with the chronology of events mixed up a bit for dramatic effect.  But, after all is said and done, the final result is less than the sum of its parts, and the movie is a missed opportunity for greatness.  Surely the language and cultural barriers we see in Babel are considerable, but they are not insurmountable; in fact, they are fairly routine.  Most of the drama is put into gear by either accident or stupid choices (and not by cultural obtuseness), with more than a few scenes that seem ludicrous and overwrought.  Taken for what it is, it’s still a pretty good film, but it’s much more of a potboiler than a serious statement on the world condition.   

Pitchfork Rating: Two halos.   (An impressive looking and well-acted drama of folks whose lives are in jeopardy.) Three pitchforks  (No sex scenes, but quite a few uncomfortable depictions of youthful sexuality, including one of full frontal nudity; crude and course language; some intense violence.)

 

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