Movie Byte ... Babel

Babel

Before I saw the movie, I turned to Wikipedia, in an attempt to understand what the title has to do with the film and to find out what Babel may mean other the the ancient city in Ancient Iraq. What I found was new to me, and surely exciting. Relate this to the Arabic word "Balbalah" which means :

والبَلْبلة: تفريق الآراء. وتَبَلْبَلت الأَلسن: اختلطت. والبَلْبَلة: اختلاط الأَلسنة. التهذيب: البَلْبلة بَلْبلة الأَلسن، وقيل: سميت أَرض بابِل لأَن الله تعالى حين أَراد أَن يخالف بين أَلسنة بني آدم بَعَث ريحاً فحشرهم من كل أُفق إِلى بابل فبَلْبَل الله بها أَلسنتهم، ثم فَرَّقتهم تلك الريح في البلاد. والبَلْبلة والبَلابل والبَلْبال: شدَّة الهم والوَسْواس في الصدور وحديث النفس .المصدر:لسان العرب

I knew this was the beginning of a wonderful movie; especially when "By the Writer and Director of Amores Perros and 21 Grams" came across my mind. Their magnificent work in the first two part of what can be called a trilogy will be remembered for a long time.

The cast is simply amazing. A diverse group of actors who where simply up to the expectations, with a special mention to the little Moroccan kid and the Japanese girl who really were astonishing. A question mark is raised, however, about Kate Blanchett’s character which was less than her capabilities as the great actress we know she is.

I personally think that this film followed the trail of all trilogies I’ve seen where the third part is the least creative and capturing. The idea of the scattered time line has appealed to many in the first two films, but if nothing new was added the spectator will be dulled and won’t react in the same passion as in the first two films. Another thing is that the Japanese story was a little astride from the three other stories, which actually made some events in the story seem unreal and far too coincidental to accept, which weakened a story with such a powerful biblical reference that drives you to think more.

Political references in this movie are numerous; starting with the Arab-terrorist and the scared transcendental westerner stereotypes, to the fast spread of news across the worlds. The film also holds a reference for Bush’s new policy regarding Mexican immigrants.

However, I don’t want to neglect the importance of Alejandro González Iñárritu as a Director and Editor, because technically speaking it’s was absolutely amazing. Fast editing combined with a variety of shots makes the viewer so indulged with the picture and the music will be felt like strings playing with your heart.

My Rating : 7.5/10