ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

MEXICAN WRITER/DIRECTOR Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has become a master of the meaningful multi-story ensemble drama

He now follows ‘Amores Perros’ and ‘21 Grams’ with ‘Babel’, a wide-ranging depiction of a world divided by misunderstanding, prejudice and fear.

Moving from Morocco to Mexico, America and Japan, it follows one random action and the unexpected consequences for a group of individual lives. Ambitious, fractured, but ultimately very rewarding, it has just been nominated for 7 BAFTA Awards.

The tale begins in the Moroccan desert where two young brothers compete to show their prowess with a newly acquired rifle. A shot rings out. A passing bus is hit, accidentally wounding American tourist Susan (Cate Blanchett).

In America, nanny Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is left to care for Susan’s two children on the very day of her own son’s wedding in Mexico. She decides to take the children with her, driving across the border with her nephew Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal).

Meanwhile in Tokyo, deaf, mute girl Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) is to discover that she is also connected to an escalating tragedy that the world’s media has rushed to report as an act of terrorism.

‘Babel’ is the kind of film that requires your full attention. The jigsaw-puzzle structure seems to work against your full emotional involvement in the piece; just as a segment in Mexico pushes you to the edge of your seat, you are propelled back to Japan.

Some characters simply disappear from the story without any explanation. If you can stick with it, though, ‘Babel’ matures into a thought-provoking meditation on a modern world beset by fears of other cultures, suspicion of the unknown, and the wounding legacy of past imperialism.

It also features excellent performances from Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, and Brad Pitt as Susan’s distraught and desperate husband. Well worth seeing.

Nationwide release

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Adriana Barraza
Screenwriters: Guillermo Arriaga, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Certificate: 15
Running time: 143 mins
Country: US
Year: 2006

© Allan Hunter, 2007