Babel

I have tried twice to watch Babel, a film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

In my first attempt, I could not understand the movie because the subtitles were not working for some weird reason:). On my second try, I couldn’t understand the movie even though the subtitles were working!

At the risk of being called dense, I must confess that I just didn’t get what the director wanted to convey. The movie was painfully slow and my opinion is that it can be totally skipped.

However, the movie had been nominated for Oscar awards in 7 categories and won numerous other awards. So lets at least talk about the things that are worthwhile!

Babel presents different cultures through a collection of intermingling stories. These narratives depict helplessness, sexual frustration, subdued anger, the politicization of events and more. Even though the all-over-the-place story is elevated by the performances of its cast, you do not end up actually caring for any of the characters.

Beyond this, I have nothing more to say about Babel.

Update:

Having lived in the United States for almost 10 years, I feel that if I were to watch this movie now I may have some appreciation of the cultural and racial sub-text. I still don’t think I will like it though.

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