William S. Burroughs is known to have said that "language is a virus from outer space", to which performance artist Laurie Anderson adds, "that's why I'd rather hear your name than see your face." Babel was really wonderful, but it was hard to watch.
Though the film is at once beautiful, genius, timely, and important, it's also like emotional nails on chalkboard. As you witness the characters suffer from ignorance and confusion, Babel lets you see just a little more than you want to about how things might unfold. This isn't a bad quality for the film, quite the opposite. It's gripping, but made me want to turn away. Further, I wanted it to lead me somewhere. I can take a lot of salt in the wound if I feel it's doing some good.
I don't need films tied up in a neat little bow any more than I need a happy ending, but Babel left me longing for some meaning. I wanted to learn something more obvious, to understand what Iñárritu is trying to say about language, God, and human experience. Besides that languages and cultures collide and cause pain. But are we to learn something about language? Bad choices? Gun control? Human interconnectedness? I wonder if the film's title is too grandiose and possibly confuses the meaning of the story itself. I wonder if the film had a more Altman-esque, less assuming context, whether it would have appeared to accomplish more.