New Orleans Film Festival: Babel
Review by Fritz Esker
Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's last film, 21 Grams, had its undeniable strengths, but suffered from its fractured chronology. While some films told out of chronological order (Pulp Fiction, Memento) are strengthened because of their out-of-order chronology, 21 Grams was hurt by it. The non-linear narratives enhanced the emotional impact of Pulp Fiction and Memento. 21 Grams, on the other hand, would have been more effective if it had just been told in chronological order. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the editing and it ultimately proved very distracting.
Babel, Inarritu's new film, has a non-linear narrative, but one that is much more effective. Structurally, it is like a somber version of Go, a movie with different storylines told separately that sometimes overlap but are not occurring at the same time. Inarritu effectively cuts back and forth between four stories. A married American couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) take a vacation in Morocco, only to have a horrible mishap befall them. Two Morroccan boys get their hands on a rifle, with predictably sad consequences. In America, Pitt and Blanchett's two children are being cared for by their maid/nanny Amilia (Adriana Barraza), an illegal immigrant. Her nephew Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal) picks her up to go to her son's wedding in Mexico, but Pitt and Blanchett are late returning from their trip, so she decides to take the children with them. The fourth (and, at first, seemingly unconnected to the others) story involves a deaf Japanese girl (Rinko Kikuchi) whose mother recently died under mysterious circumstances.
At times, Babel plays like an elaborate PSA warning us against the dangers of handgun ownership and drunk driving. However, it is a mostly effective portrait of the ways in which seemingly disparate people end up being connected to one another. Despite the four competing storylines, the film flows smoothly and three of the four storylines build to powerful conclusions. The acting, from stars Pitt and Blanchett to the relative unknowns anchoring the other three storylines, is solid across the board.
It may not be quite good enough to be remembered at rewards time, but Babel is still a thoughtful, engrossing film that is worth a look.