Barnes & Noble

A sweeping, ambitious drama that cuts a wide swath across ethnic, cultural, religious, and geographic lines, Babel presents its multilayered narrative through an interweaving quartet of plot threads. American tourists Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are vacationing in Morocco when an unexplained bullet pierces Susan’s shoulder. The slug has been fired accidentally by a goat herder’s son, who'd been given the rifle to hunt jackals preying on the flock. We ultimately learn how this relates to Tokyo businessman Yasujiro (Koji Yakusho), whose schoolgirl daughter, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), feels increasingly isolated by her deafness. Meanwhile, the Americans’ two children have been left in the care of their Mexican nanny, Amerlia (Adriana Barraza), who unintentionally places them in danger when she spirits them across the border so she can attend her son’s wedding outside Tijuana. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga (the creative team behind 21 Grams) deftly illustrate how quickly situations can spiral out of control when bad luck, misunderstanding, inaccurate information, and plain stupidity combine to create a full-scale crisis. By cutting from one plot to another we sense events racing forward unchecked; González Iñárritu keeps the viewer in a constant state of anxiety not unlike that being experienced by various characters. As richly rewarding as it is uncommonly demanding and emotionally wrenching, Babel is a shining example of contemporary film at its best and bravest. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

The tragic aftermath of human carelessness travels around the world in this multi-narrative drama from filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu. Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are a couple from the United States who have traveled to Morocco in Northern Africa on a vacation after the death of one of their children has sent Susan into a deep depression. Richard and Susan's other two children have been left in the care of Amelia (Adriana Barraza), their housekeeper. Amelia is originally from Mexico, and her oldest son is getting married in Tijuana. Unable to find someone who can watch the kids, or to obtain permission to take the day off, Amelia takes the children with her as she travels across the border for the celebration. Around the same time, in Morocco a poor farmer buys a hunting rifle, and he gives it to his sons to scare off the predatory animals that have been thinning out their goat herd. The boys decide to test the weapon's range by shooting at a bus far away; the shot hits Susan in the shoulder, and soon she's bleeding severely, while police are convinced the attack is the work of terrorists. In Japan, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) is a teenage deaf-mute whose mother recently committed suicide. This despairing, confused girl experiences such rage and frustration that she causes her volleyball team to lose a match, and later yanks her underwear off and begins exposing herself to boys in a crowded restaurant. Chieko's father then struggles to reach past the emotional distance which separates him and his daughter. Babel earned Alejandro González Iñárritu the prize for Best Director at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 097363459842
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Time: 2:22:00
• Sales Rank: 19,559