Four narrative threads combine, however intricately or tenuously, to create a tapestry of natural and human geography, as Inarritu explores the theme of incommunicability and personal responsibility with the kind of storytelling bravura he has been known for. 

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The last entry of his hyperlink ‘Trilogy of Death’, Babel is the natural concluding act of Alejandro G. Inarritu’s early career, which started with his breakthrough debut feature, Amores Perros (2000), and was followed by 21 Grams (2003). 

I remember seeing Babel back in 2006 in the cinemas, so this revisit after 17 years seems long overdue.  The myriad of scenes across different settings still come across vividly in my mind—the quiet rural villages of Morocco, the warm festivities in Mexico and the soullessness of the Tokyo urbanscape. 

Four narrative threads combine, however intricately or tenuously, to create a tapestry of natural and human geography where actions and consequences rear their ugly heads. 

An American tourist is shot in Morocco, not just sparking a chain of events that affects everyone related, but also creating international outrage over the ‘terroristic’ act. 

With strong characterisations and performances by the ensemble cast, which include Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett who play the distressed American couple at the centre of the brouhaha, Babel explores the theme of incommunicability and personal responsibility at the heart of the human experience. 

“This is your fucked-up country, it’s your responsibility”

Rinko Kikuchi is particularly good as a Japanese deaf-mute who is desperate for her first sexual encounter but feels the world is conspiring against her despite coming from a family of influence. 

On the other hand, Adriana Barraza, playing the Mexican nanny to the children of Pitt and Blanchett’s characters, cares so much about the little kids that her decision to take them to Mexico for a night in order to attend her son’s wedding turns into a nightmare. 

Inarritu is at his best when his stories connect to the larger political workings of the world, from anxieties over the porous US-Mexican border to American ‘diplomacy’ in the Arabic region.  Some might find Babel overly-plotted and a contrived excuse to depict an interconnected world, but I still enjoyed it a lot even after so many years. 

2006 was also the first time I discovered the exceptional, and in Babel’s case, the Oscar-winning music of Gustavo Santaolalla, who won the same award just a year before for Brokeback Mountain (2005).    

Grade: A-

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