Review: Babel

I really don't know where to begin here. This film absolutely left me stunned as I walked out. I suppose I can begin with a simple plot summary:

Babel follows the four stories that are all touched by that of a rifle. A Japanese deaf girl coming of age, a poor Moroccan family trying to survive in the desert, a wealthy American couple vacationing in Morocco, and a Hispanic nanny hired to take care of the couple's children in San Diego. A event evolving this rifle ties all of them together.

Sounds a lot like 2005's Crash, doesn't it? This film makes Crash look like Uwe Boll's worst. Babel does what Crash failed to do: It gives is real people. I haven't seen a more honest portrayal of people dealing with tragedy and prejudice for a long time. Don't let the review's fool you. The event involving the rifle in this film is, in this reviewer's opinion, simply a McGuffin of sorts. Iñárritu uses this as a device to explore how people react to situations of stress, tragedy, and how it makes people pull together and love each other even more.

All in all, this is an excellent, excellent film and definitely worth the ticket price. Mark my words, you'll be seeing Babel's name come up again in Oscar season.

This would be the first film that I'd be giving a perfect score to, however, Iñárritu's rendering of the United States government, namely that of Border Patrol, left me feeling a little bit uneasy and even angry at some points. I wonder if his own prejudices as a Hispanic had him leaving the Border Patrol agents as the only truly demonized force in this film.

9/10