A movie in the same vein as Amores Perros (also by director Alejandro González Iñárritu), several disparate characters with some common tie are followed. This time the settings spread across the globe instead of just Mexico City. Also like Amores Perros it’s very effective, but unrelentingly heavy. The title theme seems to apply at least in part to prideful families being sundered and scattered. The twist, and hopeful aspect, is that this rendering is often what it takes to create communication in the family – not destroy it.
4 responses to “Movie: Babel (2006)”
the “tie” was the gun.
i pretty much scoffed at the characters and found them un-believable. but i have never been a part of those other cultures.
whatever. the only message i got out of the whole thing is “GUN IS BAD!!! BAD GUN! BAD GUN!!”
in contrast, i watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith last night. i’d seen it before. not really a movie with a message (it’s an art film, whereby you take 2 good looking people, dress them nicely and have them do cool things). but, if i didn’t know so much about guns, the msg i’d get is “GUNS ARE COOL!! MORE GUNS!! GUNS!!”
😉
The Tokyo culture was the most foreign and scary to me. You’re right though – the gun was a scapegoat in the story.
lol.. “Brad Pitt’s best performance”. i don’t think so. he was good in it, but it was a rather 1 dimensional character. pfft.
yeah, the japanese culture was strange. too many people living too close together doing too much stuff that is too people oriented. blah. get out some.
i gotta see pitt’s version of jesse james.
oh yeah.. i bought “3:10 to Yuma” ($20 / gift card). i am not recommending it, but i would interested to see your take on it. i think it will grow on me.
there’s nothing bad about crowe’s performance, the character is a bit cliche (and then sometimes not). but christian bail is definitely good in it.
i did not have a lot of expectations of the movie or story, but it was different than what little preconceived notion i did have of it. peter fonda was good in it.
to help me out, i got “Once Upon A Time In the West” ($5). cheaper and longer, i am definitely more partial to the old actors in this (Henry Fonda, Bronson, Robards). as goes with spaghetti westerns, great cinematography.
i do recommend this one when you want a long slow paced western.
It was no 12 monkeys performance, that’s for sure.