It's hard to summarize this film, and my title tries to get at what I took away from this film. I saw it about a week ago and I'm finally ready to write something about it. First off, it's a great, great movie. The film gets such great range of acting, environment and setting as it switches in between four stories that range from a deaf-mute teenager in Japan to a couple of North African pre-teenage boys, to a struggling American couple on a rehabilitive vacation abroad, to their children, in the care of a motherly (illegally resident) Mexican nanny.
The acting is amazing and although you'd think it would be hard to follow, the movie keeps you engaged and the switches in between scenes are sometimes very impactful. It's not confusing in any way. But it is very impactful and real. It's almost as if this could have been a documentary, you feel as if these stories are or could be happening anywhere in the world today. The North African goat tending scenes, a Mexican wedding scene and the interaction of adolescent Japanese at a J-POP cafe and dancing has such authenticity and that's a great testament to the filmmakers' ability to capture the essence of the diverse cultures and portray them on film.
The movie has a great plot and stories that are more unfolded to you with a great sense of foreboding. I told my wife during the film, "I think I'm going to get an ulcer watching this" not because it was bad, but because I think I really cared for the characters.
The ideas of consequence, that every act you commit to on earth has some connected effect somewhere, somehow and to someone is palpable in this film. The multicultural aspect gives the film its universality. And the superb acting and completely believable characters engaged me on a very human level.
I would say that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are good in the film, but this is not a "hollywood star" type movie...the acting of the Japanese girl (played amazingly by Rinko Kikuchi), two north african kids and mexican nanny amelia (played by adriana barraza really overshadow the Pitt/Blanchett roles in my mind.
I can't say enough how very cool the Japan scenes are -- it totally
reminded me of my own trip to Japan and has the same quality of representing
modern Japan as
Lost in Translation fans will love.
If you like glimpses into other cultures, a storyline that keeps you totally engaged, and don't mind a thought-provoking film, you'll love Babel. But be prepared with an antacid...and if you have small kids and a nanny, make sure you have a backup sitter in case she needs to leave the country.