babel

Watch trailer here



If time permitted, Babel would’ve had seven stories come together--one for each continent. As it stands, the film is set in three continents, which is more than enough to convey the world’s vast discord and, ultimately, harmony. The first--and integral--story is set in the Moroccan desert, where a powerful rifle changes ownership a number of times until winding up in the hands of two young brothers, whose father instructs them use it on jackals. The curious boys fire at a tour bus in the distance to see if the bullets can really go as far as they’re supposed to. The bullet not only penetrates the bus window but also the woman leaning on it, an American woman named Susan (Cate Blanchett) on vacation with her husband Richard (Brad Pitt). In San Diego, the couple’s housekeeper (Adriana Barraza) is watching their two kids, but she, along with her nephew (Gael Garcia Bernal), is forced to bring them to Mexico for her son’s marriage when she’s unable to find a sitter for the night. Finally, in Tokyo, a young deaf-mute girl (Rinko Kikuchi) struggles to come to grips with her mother’s recent suicide and the lack of attention she is paid by people, namely the opposite sex. The stories intertwine, but the precise ties that bind them are much better seen than read.