I had somewhat high expectations about this movie, as it had 7 nominations for an Oscar. I also enjoy Iñárritu's work. As movie craftsmanship, this film was very solid, and I never felt lost as to what was going on. I do feel however that Babel didn't quite meet my expectations.
As the title leads us to believe, this movie is ultimately about people and culture. How humans live quite different lives, yet we have the same problems. Babel of course meaning the Tower of Babel that humans tried to build to reach the heavens, and were punished by God by giving us different languages so that we couldn't communicate and finish the tower.
The movie presents four sets of stories that are somehow connected, whcih works for the most part. It was very easy for me to identify with each of the characters, even though they were part of seperate cultures. It made me realize that you could have switched any of the characters around and you could have found the same problems.
The Japanese deaf girl is looking for affection, and the feeling of being loved. The Moroccan kids acted pretty much like any kid that has not been taught to respect a weapon's power. The married couple finds kindness is a desolate Morrocan village, and are treated *(somewhat to their surprise) as if they were in midwestern US. The Mexican nanny makes a mundane, but fateful decision to bring the children she looks after to her son's wedding.
Reviewers that compare this film to "Crash" have the right idea, and this could have been a film about inequality in the world. This is not what the movie intends to do, quite the opposite. To me the whole movie gives me a resounding message that we are all human in the end, and that the world is much smaller than we think.
The negatives are minor, but are just visible enough to leave me somewhat dissatisfied. Mostly it was due to the fairly predictable storyline, and the frustrations that come with this. On second thought this might end up being one of the movie's strengths, since you get even more involved in the character's predicaments.
I would definately rent this movie if you have not seen it, and you enjoy dramas, and cross cultural issues.