Babel (2006)
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Babel Movie Review
Babel is a 2006 drama film directed by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett among others. It’s a very strong sequel.
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“My mom said Mexico is dangerous.
Yes, it’s full of Mexicans“
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Yes, I found this sequel better than the depressing downer that is ’21 Grams’, but ‘Amores perros’ remains clearly the best entry in the trilogy. This one is better connected than its predecessor as actually all of the stories and characters are intertwined in one big story, but still some work much better than others.
I found the Japan storyline very weak, frustratingly so as it took away from the enjoyment of the other segments significantly. I get that it was also a bit important for the main story, but still he should have cut it out completely as following this girl Chieko on her downward spiral was depressing, pointless and overly graphic in sexual nature.
The main Morocco storyline is fine, and it showcases how one foolish event can set a bigger set of events and lead to a much bigger tragedy. I liked that it portrayed the Moroccans sympathetically.
Richard and Susan’s storyline is also very emotional and well-handled thanks in large part to two strong performances from both Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Both are very good here and I found their central relationship quite solid.
But by far the highlight of the movie is Amelia’s storyline. It’s yet another Mexican maid story but it works mostly owing to Adriana Barraza’s truly powerhouse, highly moving performance in such a tragic role. Her scenes provide the biggest emotional impact by a mile, and whenever those scenes were in, I found the movie reaching a masterpiece status.
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So she deserved her Oscar nomination for Babel for sure, but that cannot be said for Rinko Kikuchi who did not deserve it nearly as much. The director nod was fine as Inarritu really directed this movie well. All of its six nominations are at least somewhat deserved, even though it’s not the best entry in the trilogy. But it’s still very well scored and so well shot.
Babel is uneven in quality as the Japan segment is particularly weak and uninspired, but other segments work much better with Amelia’s story being the absolute highlight thanks in no small part to Adriana Barraza’s powerful performance in a very emotional role. The film is also very well directed and shot. It’s weaker than the first movie, but it’s a marked improvement upon its predecessor.
