Babel follows the same structure as previous films, Amores perros and 21 Grams. The basic set up is the same; different stories somehow connected by one accident. The stories unfold by piecing all the fragmented moments together.

Babel takes place in Morocco, Japan and the border between Mexico and the United States. In Morocco, two boys indulge in some target practice with a rifle that was given to them by their father to protect the herd from predators. At the same time an American couple, Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett), on a tourist bus through Morocco, get their trip disrupted by a gunshot that hits Susan on the shoulder.

In the United States, the couple's children are under the care of the nanny, Amelia (Adriana Barraza), who decides to take the children across the border to Mexico in order to attend her son's wedding. In Japan a teenage girl, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), who struggles with being deaf-mute and her mother's recent death, is also linked to the story.

The husband Richard, runs around the village shouting and demanding immediate medical aid, which made it impossible to sympathize with him or his wounded wife. I felt more sympathy for the Moroccan people having to tolerate such a disrespectful group of tourists. The two Moroccan children and their family get treated unjustly by the local police in order to cater to the media attention generated by the shooting incident and the resentment of the American tourist.

The story involving the Mexican nanny is set up to show the vast cultural difference between Americans and Mexicans. The story is a montage of images of a 'typical' Mexican wedding, (triggerhappy drunken screaming, headless chickens, and a lot of dirt!) as golden haired 'gringo' children watch with confusion, fear and awe. The rest of the events that involve (one would never guess!) the US border and immigration officers are completely implausible, set up to indulge the movie's dramatic climax and political opinions.

The story set in Japan could have been the most compelling. I love the idea of filming the experience of being in such an overstimulating environment while lacking the sense to hear and speak. I would assume that this story is also the closest link to the title, suggesting language and communication rather than culture or politics. Some of the images are completely heartbreaking and beautiful, but the character was also ultimately completely exaggerated, which destroyed her story.

Considering the fact that Babel is part of a trilogy, I do find it difficult to separate it from his two previous movies, but I am not convinced that they all work cohesively. Having seen all three, the aesthetic look of the film, the non-linear storytelling, the musical score, and jumpy handheld camera movement seems more like a factory formula, rather than an artistic style.

In Amores perros and 21 Grams there were class issues lingering through the stories. Babel is ambitiously juggling current American political issues. The complications of these issues are denigrated by a one-sided point of view. For me, Amores perros and 21 Grams had the grace of having intimate stories. Babel, lost in its politics, seems a bit too lazy and predictable.

Rated TBC (see IFCO website for details)
Babel is released on 19th January 2007.
Babel – Official website