BABEL - Best Picture for the upcoming Oscars
Met up wif Jere in the morning to catch babel in Vivo today. Jere looks thinner, and he has dyed his hair again. I just knew that this show has been showing for close to a month already, woah y I catch it only today. And for once, I'm gonna be a movie reviewer.The film has certainly taken me by surprise. Babel is shot in 3 continents, being filmed in Mexico, San Diego, Morocco & Japan. There are 5 different languages being spoke. It is ingenious how the director is able to link the characters in these different countries together. The family in a village in Morocco, who bought a rifle from a local man, got into trouble after one of their son accidentally shot a tour bus, thereby injuring an american tourist(Cate Blanchett) whose hubby is Brad Pitt, which became news worldwide immediately & the US is quick to link it to a terrorist attack. Treatment for Blanchett was delayed due to international issues between US & Morocco. While on vacation, their 2 kids were left under the care of their Mexican maid, Amelia. Amelia had no choice but to bring them along to Mexico to attend her son's wedding. However, on their way back to San Diego, they encountered mishaps due to the stringent US patrol checks at the US-Mexico Border and they were deserted in a desert subsequently. On the other side of the globe, a Japanese man is linked to the saga as he was the one who gave the rifle to the local man in Morocco, his tour guide years ago. His Japanese daughter, deaf and mute, has a deep inferiority complex & seeks attention in cheap,promiscuous ways, even to the extent of seducing a cop.
Babel actually means confusion of sound or voices. But according to the bible, Man initially spoke the same languages. Because of Man's attempt to build a tower all the way to heaven centuries ago, God reacted by confusing the language of its builders into many mutually incomprehensible languages to thwart their plan, hence the different languages we speak now.
A very realistic film, captured in a very human way, so skilfully intertwined, with excellent performances by the actors, whether big stars or small characters. A masterpiece in its own.
Rating by Fat Weekly Movie Correspondent, Desmond Max Chia
