Babel

Looking at the baleful effects of miscommunication, the Oscar-nominated Babel is the latest multi-narrative-thread film from screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams). Linking four separate stories—one involving a rural Moroccan family, whose father gives his young sons a rifle to protect their goats; the second concerning an estranged American couple touring Morocco; the third focusing on the pair's housekeeper, who takes the couple's two young children to her son's wedding in Mexico; and the last concerning a deaf-mute girl in Tokyo trying to cope with her mother's death and her own sexual longing—the fine international cast includes Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, and Gael Garcia Bernal. Using different film stocks and lenses to lend a distinctive look to each narrative strand, Inarritu delivers some truly striking images, but in the end Babel seems less than the sum of its parts—more of an intricately constructed, vibrantly shot, illustrated lecture about the inability of humans to connect with one another than a gripping drama. But even while there's more cinematic contrivance than honest humanity to Babel, its many strengths still make it well worth watching. Recommended. (F. Swietek)[DVD Review—Sept. 18, 2007—Paramount, 2 discs, 143 min., R, $34.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2006's Babel (2-Disc Collector's Edition) sports the same excellent transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include the fine 88-minute “Common Ground: Under Construction Notes” making-of video diary from director Alejandro González Iñárritu, and trailers. Bottom line: a solid feature-length “making-of” extra helps illuminate one of 2006's best films.]