Bab-el

The first time, I wanted to watch this movie because I saw Cate Blanchett (yep, and not Brad Pitt). The second time, it caught my attention since a lot people in hollywood media didn't even know how to pronounce the movie name. But most importantly, it won golden globe best drama and nominated for 7 Oscars. So I thought, why not?!?! I didn't really catch much from the trailer, but after watching the movie I realized I wasn't even close to guessing what it was about.

The stories were set in different places in the world - Morocco, US, Mexico, Japan. Stories that seemed independent, unrelated, told in different languages. An American couple having a trip to Morocco, and the wife got shot by a kid who was practicing his rifle that his father just bought. The couple's children were left at home with a nanny who had to leave for Mexico for her son's wedding, and decided to bring them along. And a Japanese girl, mute and deaf, going through her life of silence, ignorance, and insult. Her father turned out to be the owner of the rifle which he had given to the local guide that took him hunting. Confused? You gotta watch it yourself :P

I like the fact that it wasn't clear which incident happened when, and as it continued you gradually understand and start putting things together. But even more than that, I looked up the movie title, and it's quite interesting. It refers to a town in Hebrew bible, Babylon, where Tower of Babel is located. People spoke the same language, and they tried to build this tower to reach heaven and become godlike. This made God angry, and decided to make those people speak different languages, so they could no longer communicate and stop building the tower. So it ties back to the "language" obstacles told in this story, where people try to "say" something but it is not always "heard." Everyone had to struggle along the road; not everyone ended up with a smile.. not everyone was given a second chance.. I think it's a really good movie, and it tries to communicate a lot. A bit difficult to understand, yes (so might require post-research hehe), but worth watching..

directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
released: November 2006

PS. Apologies to some who I've mentioned watching this together. I couldn't help it! After my terrible final exam, I needed a distraction hehe..