BABEL

A visual manifesto with not much to offer beyond that.

Babel is a film that showcases three different stories that all are connected through various characters. The stories cover a very diverse group of topics, but each presents a person struggling with the decisions they are making in the moment. The stories are loosely linked, and did not flow together very well.

The film is loaded with visual pleasure however. Incredible camera work created beautifully framed shots and emotional scenes. The most enjoyable story line was that of the young girl, Chieko, in Japan. This was a touching and emotional role played with brilliance by Rinko Kikuchi. The way the camera followed her through both the dense city and her more intimate spaces was powerful. The direction and cinematography really portrayed her story as the strongest. Ironically, she was the least connected to the core story line. Nonetheless, her performance was what really kept me into the film until the end.

This is not to say that the other performances were not strong. I just feel that the characters were not written very well. The cast was good, but their characters lacked substance. So they did not come off as too compelling, with the exception being Chieko.

The score to the film was composed nicely and really added to the film. Alejandro González Iñárritu has made some great films, including 21 Grams and Amores Perros. Babel was not as strong as either one of these past films, but I still look forward to more work from him.


GRADE: B-

TRAILER: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_vantage/babel/trailer1/