All Talk And No Action

As the week came to an end I sought joy in the medium of film. Babel is the new release from acclaimed director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perrros, 21 grams). It stars Gael García Bernal (great actor) in chain of events that will link an American tourist couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett), two Moroccan boys who accidentally shoot one of them, their nanny (Adriana Barraza) illegally crossing into Mexico with their American children and a Japanese teen rebel (Rinko Kikuchi) whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. The strongest story was that of the Japanese teenager (Rinko Kikuchi) who was believable and defied the media's reserved stereotype of the Japanese. She dealt with the issues of maternal suicide and discrimination against minorities very well. The cinematography was average doing nothing to detract from the bleak atmosphere with the music offsetting the the scenes. The Japanese teen's father gave a riffle to a Moroccan who sold it on and it was used in the shooting of Blanchett's American tourist. The reaction from the rest on the tour bus and the American embassy highlighted the false assumption that most Arabs are terrorists.The Mexican nanny deported partly because of her nephew's attempts to elude border patrols again brings up the issue of illegal immigrants in the States and the stereotypes of Mexicans.

However Brad Pitt (whose acting is menial at best) plays an irate, desperate husband. It's not that I did not believe him (who would?), I just did not care. Blanchett known for impeccable performances was wasted in this film. Lying on the floor in a village hut for most of the movie, a role better delegated to an extra.The crux of it is the stories were feebly linked and the purpose of the thread featuring the Moroccan boy's escapes me. Whether it was intended to highlight the plight of the non- tourist areas of Morocco, police brutality in the face of international pressure or the naive arrogance of two young brothers remained unclear. Rare for a Inarritu film I was falling asleep as the film drew to it's ending after a lengthy two hours and twenty two minutes.

Mick LaSalle movie critic for the San Francisco Chronicle writes:
In the end, a film of profound ambition is unmasked as one without real purpose, a misguided attempt to make a serious, important statement despite having nothing, really, to say. In "21 Grams," director Alejandro González Iñárritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga went back and forth in time, following multiple characters because that was the best way to enrich and explore the story. In "Babel," the same filmmakers take a similarly experimental approach because, well, maybe because it worked in "21 Grams." I must agree with LaSalle and suggest people watch Iñárritu's earlier efforts Amores Perros and 21 grams. As I said in comparison to Crash , he uses the interlinking story lines effectively and leaves the viewer to make their own assumptions rather than signposting intent from the out set. The third instalment has poor character development but his past movies have never been about that. Unlike Babel the link between the stories was strong enough for us to care about the characters despite not knowing every detail of their lives. Iñárritu raised issues, questioned ours and society's thinking and ultimately left us to make up our own minds. As a friend said 'there is no ending' but in contrast to Ford Coppola's Lost in Translation we are able to make our own if we desire.
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