"Babel" was one of the most unpleasant experiences I've had at the movies. I don't mean to say that it was appropriately or effectively unpleasant; what I do mean to say is that I wish I had not seen it. It was a low attempt as a cultural commentary, failing to instill even the slightest amount of understanding, compassion, or tolerance. What exactly was director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu hoping to achieve here? If it was to inform the audience, to show that miscommunication can lead to a series of ill-timed and heartbreaking events, then he went about it the wrong way. This film only manages to depress us by depicting people in unfortunate circumstances, and not in a way that's fascinating, enlightening, or even entertaining. It's too long, too slow, and far too downbeat to do any good for an audience, especially if a resolution is desired.
What we have here is a fragmented story of distant connections, told in four separate yet mixed segments. They're so distant that one wonders why they had to be connected in the first place; one idea is incredibly different from the other, pretty much to the point of seeming out of place when forced together in the same plot. Apparently, it wasn't bad enough that each segment was unbearably drawn out, with little dialogue passing between the characters. As the story progresses, its one bad situation after another, and by the end, little if anything has been a worthwhile experience. Yes, I understood that we were supposed to be witnessing several slices of life, and yes, I recognize that it was made to be "realistic." But shouldn't such "realism" actually go somewhere? Was there really no other way to make the plight of these characters understandable and worthy of our sympathy?
I think the best way to describe the plot would be to separate the four segments (I can't describe them in any particular order, considering they unevenly weave together). The first segment involves a poor Moroccan family. The father, Abdulah (Mustapha Rachidi), purchases a pre-owned rifle and gives it to his two adolescent sons, Yussef (Boubker Ait El Caid) and Ahmed (Said Tarchani). One day while atop a mountain, practicing shooting at jackals and rocks, they decide to fire at a passing tour bus in the distance (not out of hatred; they just wanted to test the rifle's firing range). They see the bus come to a stop and immediately understand that someone has been hurt. As all frightened children would do, they run off. They immediately hide the rifle and keep silent about the whole thing, even when they hear the news that an American woman was shot (and supposedly killed).
The second segment involves Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett), an American couple visiting Morocco, supposedly to reconnect after their infant son died of SIDS. It doesn't seem to be working; it was easy to recognize the tension between them, as was the fact that Susan is deeply hurt over Richard's initial inability to deal with the death. Reconciliation is hinted at on their tour bus, when she reaches for his hand. But then things take a turn for the worst when a rogue bullet hits her square in the neck. Thus begins a whirlwind decent into panic and fear; the nearest hospital is over four hours away, and no one will stop to help. The only option is for Susan to be taken to the nearest village and housed in a Good Samaritan's home. While she rests, Richard tries like mad to get hold of the American embassy. He thinks that if anyone can get an ambulance to his injured wife, they can. |
