In the late 90s to mid 2000s, a swath of films that were made up of interconnected stories were released. Unlike these other movies, like Traffic, Crash and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (all of which are fantastic), Babel took this film structure and made a far greater film. Maybe it's the lack of an ensemble cast (with only two big actors known two mainstream audiences) or maybe it's the plausible storyline that plays on the audience's fears that make this an excellent film.The film takes place in three different locations around the world and focuses on four groups of characters. The first group of characters are Moroccan goat-herders. Abdullah (Mustapha Rachidi) buys a rifle from one of his neighbours to shoot jackals that prey upon his herds. He gives the gun to his sons Ahmed (Said Tarchani) and Yussef (Boubker Ait El Caid) when they go into the hills. The two brothers begin to fight about who is a better marksman and end up shooting at a bus full of tourists. This is called an act of terrorism by the United States and there is pressure on the Moroccan authorities to find the culprits. The police eventually track down Abdullah, Yussef and Ahmed. Ahmed is shot and killed by the police, at which stage Yussef gives up and surrenders to police custody.
Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are two American tourists on holiday in Morocco. Susan is increasingly worried about getting sick from poor hygiene in what she considers an unclean country and is desperately missing her children back home. While they are on the tour bus, a gunshot hits Susan in the neck. Being too far to get to any major cities, the tour guide suggests that they go to his village which is closer, much to the apprehension of the other tourists. The busload of tourists eventually decide to leave Richard and Susan in the village. They are later airlifted out and taken to the US embassy.
Back in America, Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is looking after the children of Richard and Susan. She is trying with some difficulty to find someone to look after the children while she goes to Mexico for her son's wedding. Her nephew, Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal) suggests that she brings the children to Mexico. On the way back, there is some confusion at the border and Santiago, who has been drinking, makes the mistake of driving through the border and into the US, prompting a chase in the night. Santiago stops the car and tells Amelia and the children to stay there and he'll come back for them. Amelia and the children stumble through the desert and get separated. Amelia gets found by the border patrol, who also find the children. Amelia ends up being deported to Mexico for working as an illegal immigrant within the US.
The final story, which is seemingly unrelated to the rest of the film, follows Chieko Wataya (Rinko Kikuchi), a deaf-mute schoolgirl from Tokyo. She is self-concious about her disability and tries very hard to get the attention of boys when she is out with her friends, as she wants to lose her virginity. All the attempts she makes are unsuccessful. A young police officer, Kenji Mamiya (Satoshi Nikaido), has been asking to question her father. Chieko believes this is to do with the suicide of her mother, but it is in fact to do with the ownership of the rifle used to shoot Susan in Morocco.
Now that the plot's out of the way, we can finally talk about the rest of the movie. First off, I love the symbolism of the title of the movie. In biblical terms, the Tower of Babel was built by humanity who had a united language and believed that they could reach God if they built a tower. As punishment, God made all the people on Earth speak a different language. One of the major themes in this film is being able to communicate with one another, whether it be Richard trying to tell the Moroccans what is wrong with his wife or Chieko being able to communicate with anyone.
I really like the casting in this film. Brad Pitt is fantastic and gives one of the best performances of his career, although we see very little of him. Likewise, Gael Garcia Bernal gives a fantastic performance, but he is not in the film for long. The two standout performances come from Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza. The scenes in which Barraza is walking listlessly throughout the desert are fantastic. Kikuchi is also fantastic and it is her story that I can relate to the most. Having a disability myself, I watch the story of Chieko and I can see parallels between that story and my own teenage years.
Surprisingly, that is not the only story I can relate to in this film. I too have been injured in a country where I don't speak the language and although my injury wasn't as bad as being shot, you do feel a certain helplessness in being unable to communicate what you need. Perhaps this is why this film resonates with me, because half of the movie's plot is recognisable.
The soundtrack for this film really sticks out for me too. Gustavo Santaolalla's score is fantastic and his use of guitar makes the film even more evocative. All of the Mexican music played at the wedding is fun to listen to and it makes me want to travel there all the more.
Verdict: A powerful movie that makes you think about how small the world has become.
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