Babel

Okay, some of the stuff I'm going to write here might ruin your experience of this movie. I'm not revealing any major plot points, but I will discuss themes and general practices. Aesthetics and Analysis, essentially.

The first thing I noticed about this movie was the title. Babel was the name for the city of Babylon in the Old Testament. It is also the location of a mythical tower. This tower was constructed by a unified humanity that spoke one language. They were attempting to be greater than God by constructing this monstrous tower. God saw this, was angered, and made the builders speak in different languages so they couldn't understand one another. Thus, the tower project was destroyed. The English word "babble" comes from this story.

So already knowing something from the title, I went into this movie with certain expectations. I expected difficulties in characters understanding each other. I was given what I expected, which is what movies (and their marketing) should do in order to be considered successful.

The storyline is quite complex. It is not a typical story with one protagonist, one antagonist, et cetera. In fact, there really are no antagonists except for the protagonists.

There are five languages in this movie. Arabic, English, Spanish, Japanese, and sign language. Each character that speaks each language struggles with their limitations in communicating with those around them. The communication between characters stretches beyond linguistic difficulties, however. Characters often say things that are ignored or disregarded. Other characters often choose to ignore or disregard others because they have difficulty seeing things from their point of view.

This movie features an excellent collision and comparison of cultures. Similarities and differences between cultures are abound in the film. Consumption of Coca-Cola, alcohol, listening to music, dancing, and sexuality are all used to illustrate the similarities and differences between the characters and their respective cultures.

This was a challenging movie to construct. The complex storyline does not even follow temporal rules. Events occur from multiple perspectives, and movie time does not coincide with real time. For instance, one event early in the film is repeated much later on in the film but from a different perspective. This does not cause disorientation, though. The stories and their temporal inconsistencies with one another are blended together so seamlessly and easily that there is no jolt when setting is switched.

Cinematographically, this film is very well composed. Each setting has its own nuances that let the viewer know where they are in an instant. There are also some scenes that are absolutely brilliantly edited together.

The acting was very well done. Although the characters have relatively little screen time to be properly developed, their motivations are established easily throughout the movie. The characters are also very real and believable. Even minor characters seem true. For a film like this, seeming reality is vital.

This movie wasn't a sit back and enjoy while you scarf down popcorn movie. It was complex and requires attention and thought during the movie. Those types of movies are my favorite. It is also the kind of movie that makes you want to think about it after it is over.

There is definitely an underlying theme that unites the storylines, but this theme is not simple and is not beaten into the viewer's head. It is presented for the viewer to choose to absorb, or not absorb.

Go out and see it.