Babel: If you want to be understood... Listen

An interesting movie where 4 stories are cleverly interweaved into one big movie. You will have to watch this movie to see how a rich troubled American couple who are having a holiday in Morocco can be linked to a shepherd and his 2 sons, and also connected to a Mexican lady who is working as a live-in maid in America for 16 years but had to attend her son's wedding in Mexico for just 1 day. And somehow these 2 persons' stories are linked all the way to Japan, to a troubled Japanese deaf-mute teenager who cannot cope with the lost of her mother and her adolescence problems.

The writer Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro González Iñárritu have cleverly included all the ingredients to make a great movie:

a) Famous actors: Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett

b) Location, location, location: There are people and stories from countries spanding across 4 continents, Asia, Africa, and North and South America

c) Storyline that deals with various world issues such as:

1. Terrorism (there's a scene I like where Brad Pitt gave money to a Moroccan for helping and the Moroccan refused. Brad Pitt was truly touched by this Moroccan stranger who helped him unconditionally while his American compatriates have left him and his wife to fend for themselves. In this terrorist and war-torn world which have inevitably changed our perception on strangers causing stereotyping and suspicion, this movie tends to help put things back to perspective.)


2. Family issues (Brad Pitt and wife were having a difficult time in their marriage after the death of their young child but things are put into perspective when the wife is facing a near death situation.)


3. Maid issues (Rich couples put their child care entirely into the hands of maids which can be dangerous sometimes irregardless of how much the maid loves the kids)


4. Guns (Nowadays, guns are easily available and thus, irresponsible or uneducated usage of these powerful weapons can lead to deadly consequences)


5. Single parent/Lost of parent problems (Single parents must try to listen to their children and vice versa as both are trying hard to cope with their individual problems)


6. Adolescence problems (this show highlights the many teenage problems such as drugs, alcohol, sex, rejection, generation gaps, self-consciousness etc).


7. Handicap (this movie touches on how a deaf-mute cope with everday life)

d) A naked japanese girl. (need I say more? haha)

Actually, I like these kind of movies which tend to create awareness on various issues in life. It gives us a different perspective on how connected we all are as we watch all these somewhat random people in the world but yet somehow all connected to each other.

I'd rate this movie an A-, given the good cinematography and the whole story telling and connection is so seamlessly done.

Picture Source: http://www.imdb.com