Wednesday November 15, 2006 6:28 pm
Babel Review: ‘Crash 2: Now It’s Global…and Longer…and Boring’
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Paramount, Adventure, Drama, Thrillers, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews
EDIT: Check out FilmCrunch’s Babel Video Review.
This film follows four interconnected stories – an American couple vacationing in Morocco, a poor Moroccan family, a young deaf girl growing up in Japan, and a middle-aged Mexican woman living illegally in the United States. We get to see how these stories affect each other in otherwise inconspicuous ways and watch each person as they experience various forms of predjudice. Babel stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, and Gael Garcia Bernal, and is directed and written by the duo behind Amores Perros and 21 Grams, Alejandro Gonzales Inarittu and Guillermo Arriaga, respectively. Although this film says a lot about the current sociopolitical climate inherent in our world today, it does little else but flimsily connect four desolate situations.
As we were leaving the theater, a friend of mine turned to me and jokingly said, “I get it! The moral is: don’t give guns to Arabs, don’t trust Mexicans, and Japanese people are weird.” Of course, since he was kidding, this was quite funny. But what he said also pinpointed some of the generalizations this film attempts to explore and break down.
What I liked about this film (and there wasn’t too much) was the way it framed politically our current global inclination – countries, specifically their governments (including the US), have adopted a “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality when it comes to anything out of the ordinary. Even worse, when questions finally are asked, they are often based on pre-conceived assumptions about the people involved or their intentions. This was portrayed very well in the film.
In general, however, I don’t think this film was conceived for entertainment purposes. I never felt like what I was watching translated well on the screen; it wasn’t put together in a way that was accessible to the average viewing audience. In Inarittu’s past films, typified by the same multi-faceted plot, the stories have come together in a very heavy way: the lives involved have a direct, often staggering influence on each other. Babel tries to string together four stories – one of which I was completely uninterested in because of it’s near total detachment from the other three – which seem to hardly affect one another at all. The only discernable impact one has on another is the near instant change in policy and assumption one act of violence has on the entire world, which, again, doesn’t come across well on the screen. It certainly lacked the intensity portrayed in the trailer, that’s for sure.
Additionally, the stories are so damn sad that you long for a resolution anywhere, no matter how poor. The only moments, and I mean moments, anyone on screen is happy, you find yourself waiting for the inevitable downfall. It was 2 hours and 45 minutes of my life devoted to total and complete depression – not something I enjoyed. If that is the intention, the film will be a resounding success, but I think I just needed more backstory from the characters: each person’s past unravels quite slowly, while important events are taking place that would’ve invoked a deeper resonance with me. Expanding any one storyline may have helped, but there just wasn’t enough time.
The final scene is an insult. I don’t want to give too much away, but the writer and director spend the entire film submerged in tragedy, and just when you expect the final straw, they pull back and do something unexpected. Needless to say, I felt controlled and manipulated, as if they were saying, “ha! We were leading you in one direction the entire time, and now we’re pulling the rug out! Look for meaning!”
I really do understand the intention here, but this film was just Crash without the in-your-face confrontation. You might have a better time watching your hamster run on his wheel. But if a piece of sawdust from the hamster cage happens to land in your goldfish tank, and the goldfish splashes some water onto your cat, walk away and don’t look back. Too obscure? Yep, just like Babel.
- Related Tags:
- alejandro gonzales inarittu, babel, brad pitt, cate blanchett, drama, gael garcia bernal, political, thriller
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Comments:
Bad review..
You’re saying it’s okay to laugh at racist jokes as long as it’s meant to be a joke?
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The joke was funny not because it demeaned people of different races, but because there are people out there who actually hold similar views. It was intended to criticize <i>racist people</i>. This is obvious in the subsequent sentence, “(The joke) pinpointed some of the generalizations this film attempts to explore and break down.” But thanks for the feedback.
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“The joke was funny not because it demeaned people of different races, but because there are people out there who actually hold similar views.”
Correct. In this case, the joke is funny because it reflects what the listener already beholds to be a given truth. That is, the listener holds “similar racist views” as the speaker, and then assumes that there is a world out there that shares the same racist viewpoint, hence making the joke “funny” (meaning, “all right”).
That the speaker did not spontaneously think to include the behaviour of the pathetic tourists in the village, or the attitude of the Americans in his/her remark speaks volumes.
The funny thing is, the joke isn’t even funny to begin with.
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“the stories are so damn sad” ...
well DUHH .. a movie that depicts reality cannot be like the average hollywood comedy ??
try to think outside the box ... outside USA thinking ... LOL
stoopid ..
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I appreciate your comment, though calling me or my review <strike>stupid</strike> stoopid seems a bit unnecessary.
In reference to your remarks about my believing the film to be “so damn sad,” I can only say that I went into the movie knowing full well the nature of its tone. I didn’t expect anything <i>but</i> utter desolation from frame one. I was merely stating the obvious – that the stories were sad – then tying that fact into my overall impressions. I wasn’t expecting a Hollywood comedy (your suggestion is ridiculous), nor am I confused about what a true depiction of real life is like – sometimes, in reality, people can be happy.
Regarding your comment about the USA and my apparent ignorance: I stated quite plainly that I understood and appreciated how the film portrayed the current political climate inherent in our world. However, I am also charged with reviewing film. Just because something makes a powerful statement, doesn’t mean it should be immediately absolved of all other shortcomings.
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I know what you mean by one story (which I assume it’s the Japan part) seems a tad irrelevant but that’s what Japan’s position is towards to “the overseas” or the global movement anyway. If the director purported that kind of insightful intension in it - but probably won’t be understood internationally - I think he is genius. But then, I don’t know his intension was.
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Btw, for my above post I put “Hong Kong” as my location because this is where I live now but I am from Japan so let me “correct” my flag thingy!
The comments on your review interestingly portraits the film intension. It’s not the language we speak that is diverse but our standing point of view is and therefore the interests. It’s the cut of the channel between people from different background.
One joke might domestically sounds so funny, but it may not inter-culturally. One word is so kind and tender domestically, but it may be harsh inter-culturally. Lot of people say U.S. is a melting pot of races and culture, I don’t think so. But what’s really good about U.S. and it’s doubtfully a great American asset is that people are so open to talk about everything. But that doesn’t get accepted straightforward globally either. I think it’s a vis-a-vis individual struggling when communicating with the others no matter what languages we speak, and it train us for the greater being. If we are homogenized, there is nothing scary than that for the human survival I reckon.
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You make some good points, TG. If the film does one thing, it’s getting people to talk, to discuss and maybe someday resolve these issues.
Thanks for the comments.
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Thank you for your review! As I watched the film, I was so freaking mad that I was watching Crash all over again. I’m even more more angry at the morons that said, “Hey Crash is such a good movie.” and “Hey Ben, Babel is SO good. It is SO deep.” These movies do nothing but drag you through the mud in an attempt to seem deep or intense. But that is all they do. There IS NO CONTENT!
You hit the nail on the head in saying, “you long for a resolution anywhere, no matter how poor.” My wife and I were joking at every point trying to come up with what could make things worse. When the Mexican lady was lost in the desert, I was expecting her to get bit by a rattlesnake, etc. These movies, and everyone associated with making such crap, are an embarrassment to us all.
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thank you
continue
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