I enjoy films that make me think about something outside of my own perspective. I had no idea what Babel was about. In fact, I had got it into my head that it would be similar to Troy; I think Brad Pitt being in it confused me.

From the offset, the first few scenes really did nothing to tell me what Babel actually was. Throughout the first half of the movie I was waiting for a sudden twist of events to piece everything together in some cliché way, but thankfully this never came and what the film turned into was a number of individual stories loosely connected but told with their own importance. The links between the stories revealed some elements of irony as each did affect the next (you could argue profoundly), but I prefer not to look too much into these links. They served their purpose but they don’t take anything away from the power of the four individual situations. The film was not about consequences so much as it was about human thought.

People seem divided about the movie, but I think it was one of the better films I have seen in recent years. For a long time, I have not felt so empty and emotionally drained as a film’s credits begin to roll as when Babel finished. It was almost too much. Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu is a fantastic director. I loved the way that this film avoided convention: there was nobody to love or hate, just people and their stories, their lives, their fears, their dreams.

The reviews on Rotten Tomoatoes seem split between praising Babel for its brilliance and slating it for its bloated, uneven narrative. Perhaps the theme of cultural interaction could have been explored better along with the concept of universal communication, but during the movie I wasn’t too interested in discussing social issues. All I wanted to see were the stories, although I must say the whole thing would have been better without Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett turning in (what I felt were) uninspiring performances.

What was interesting was the casual way that several cultures were presented to the audience. There was nothing overbearing about it. We learnt as we watched. Babel was a pleasant surprise.

Techno' tags: Babel, Movies, Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu , Brad Pitt