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All rights reserved.Babel (2007, DVD)
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| Movie Description BABEL is the crowning achievement in the trilogy from the unstoppable creative pairing of screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, which also includes AMORES PERROS (2000) and 21 GRAMS (2003). Building upon its predecessors' method of weaving together disparate storylines, BABEL reaches new heights of ambition with a tale that, in the absence of traditional narrative and protagonist, relies on numerous incredible performances to evoke an affecting relevance by framing contemporary issues in very human struggles and mistakes. Richard and Susan (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) are a wealthy couple from San Diego who are vacationing in Morocco in order to heal after the death of their young child; their other two children are at home with their Mexican maid, Amelia (Adriana Barraza). In a complex shift of ownership to which the audience is privy, a rifle finds its way into the hands of a local herdsman's young sons (Said Tarchani and Boubker Ait El Caid), who recklessly take a shot at a tour bus and catch Susan in the shoulder, causing her to nearly lose her life. The distraught Richard calls home to tell Amelia of the situation, who promptly departs for Mexico to attend her child's wedding, with Richard and Susan's children in tow. Disaster thus multiplies, with the situation in Morocco ascribed to terrorists in the media, while Amelia meets with the harsh immigration policies of the Bush administration. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, a widower (Koji Yakusho) tied to the rifle in question attempts to deal with his memories and his raucous, promiscuous, deaf daughter (Rinko Kikuchi). Nearly every performance of the film is devastating, offering an intimate, emotional experience that would approach melodrama if it weren't rendered so realistically. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto's color palette masterfully captures the muted tones of the harsh natural landscapes of Morocco and the Mexican border, as well as the fluorescent lights of Tokyo that denote another, though equally barren, end of the spectrum. The misunderstandings born of cultural, language, and class barriers are on par with those that occur between family members, depicting a world that, while connected in the least expected of ways, is also faced with a deep-seated crisis that threatens to alienate humanity from itself.
Editorial Reviews Box Office - Richard Mowe (07/01/2006) Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (09/07/2006) New York Times - A. O. Scott (10/27/2006) Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (11/03/2006) Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (11/02/2006) Total Film - Neil Smith (02/01/2007) Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (12/28/2006) Uncut - Chris Roberts (02/01/2007) Movieline's Hollywood Life - Stephen Farber (11/01/2006) Ultimate DVD - David Richardson (03/01/2007) Awards 2006Academy AwardsBest Original ScoreGustavo Santaolalla | Find errors in the product description? Submit a catalog update request now. | ||||||||||
Top Reviews  DVD BABELReview created: 07/07/07 by:  0 of 5 people found this review helpful. The product was new and excellent price. Package deal on shipping helped. Seller is excellent store for liquidation. Review ID: 10000000003960451 Was this review helpful? Report this review Reviews Great condition !Review created: 09/06/08 by: angelamgontijo ( 1 ) Product in great condition, fast delivery !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Review ID: 10000000008596341 Was this review helpful? Report this review  Nothing to add1 of 1 people found this review helpful. Well, the movie, perhaps because of its title, is very confusing, as it is constantly changing from one plot, to others in the film. Review ID: 10000000008148251 Was this review helpful? Report this review Interconnections2 of 2 people found this review helpful. A Shepard in Morocco barters for a rifle and gives it to his two boys to guard the sheep. When the boys decide too try it out, they strike a passing tourist bus. Unfortunately, the bullet strikes a vacationing American woman in the middle of nowhere. The bus driver convinces them that it would be best to go to his small village which is nearby with the claim the village has a doctor. Unable to be transported any further, the woman and her husband are dropped off in this very remote village, to await help. Blanchett gives a stunning performance as the critically wounded wife, and Pitt is her anguished husband, as they rediscover their love under duress. This shooting triggers off events in other people's lives across the world. We go to a troubled, deaf Japanese girl who causes a commotion, and the American couple's nanny does not wish to miss her son's wedding, and attempts to bring the children into Mexico with her without any thoughts of the possible ramifications. To explain any more details of 'Babel' would spoil your viewing experience. This movie shows some of the consequences of the Tower of Babel in today’s world. That even though today you can talk to someone across the world, it does not mean you can communicate with them. That language is still a barrier and our frame of reference is formed by our cultures where we are raised. I recommend that you rent or check this movie out from your local library. Note there are some sexually explicit scenes that were pretty much unnecessary for this melodrama. Review ID: 10000000003940883 Was this review helpful? Report this review  SPOILER ALERT0 of 4 people found this review helpful. OK, I slept on this one and overnight it lost a star. I can only give this two stars at the most. My biggest problem is that it is very hard to like anybody in the film. The only people I felt sorry for were the little kids and maybe the deaf mute Japanese girl but even she was annoying. I had no sympathy for the parents whatsoever. They are sitting there whining about losing a baby to SIDS and yet you find out that their kids were raised all the way through by their illegal nanny. So, they lose a kid and instead of getting closer to the two kids they do have they head to Africa? Idiotic. They deserved every little bit of suffering they got. What about the kids with the gun? Should I feel sorry for them and their parents? Not really. I don't care what culture you live in, if you have two crazy kids without brains (and the warning signs should have been obvious) you should NOT give them a gun. No sympathy here. The Nanny? Oh, come on. No sympathy whatsoever. She's lived in the United States for 13 years and she doesn't have enough cultural common sense to know that you don't take American kids across the border without permission. I disliked the parents even more after I found that they left their kids not only with a nanny...but an idiot nanny. I really gave this one a chance but after digesting it I realize that it doesn't deserve one Review ID: 10000000003554475 Was this review helpful? Report this review |
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