Review: Babel

Seen once and 6/28/15

3.5/4

Babel is a beautiful, powerful, and meaningful film. It is all at once a heart-pounding human thriller, a class in cultural sensitivity and a breathtaking emotional tidal wave. This film mines deep, and by its incredible finale strikes the core of humanity. All sides of culture are observed and contemplated, all with a profoundly humane understanding by the divinely empathetic Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. I am convinced that Inarritu understands humanity better than anyone in cinema. He is also a purely brilliant filmmaker. I feel that I could watch his movies over and over again and by that alone grow as a person, humanize my soul. His control of diverse cultures and complicated characters is flawless, and his artistry is beautiful.

Babel's name tells its greatest theme in one word: the misunderstandings between supposedly different peoples and the importance of overcoming this. A united human population would have prevented the crises of this film by communication and trust and support.

The first time I saw this film, I didn't appreciate it. I was a little bored at times, and didn't get much out of it other than some emotional power towards the end. My total appreciation of the film now is a testament to my growth as a viewer over the past few years, and encourages me as I venture into new territories in which I am not very appreciative. My experiences with Bergman have been exactly like my old experiences with Inarritu. But things change, clearly: I now consider Inarritu one of my few favorite directors, and I am confident that I understand Babel to its core. I loved every story, every amazing actor, Brad Pitt is one of my favorites in all of movies, I thought that the ending was perfect, and the themes were meaningful enough to actually teach me something after the film was over, which is very rare for me in film; everything worked exquisitely. This is a film that is almost exactly at my level right now: I understand it, appreciate it and love it. I can now store it away in my list of great films before continuing to move forward into more ambitious realms.