MOVIE REVIEW - Babel (2006)

The movie Traffic was a hit in Hollywood circles - multiple unrelated stories that barely connect through one of the characters; dark cinematography to match the horribly depressing situations; beating you over the head with political undertones that are never explained and sorely under-researched; positive critical reviews out the roof (93% on Rotten Tomatoes); multiple Oscar nominations; and most surprisingly, $123 million at the box office.

Hey, it was a hit once, let's make the same movie, but this time about gun violence and declining international opinion of the US. Babel is loosely about how a lack of communication can make all things go bad. But it's only as loosely about that as these stories are tied together. Mostly, it's just a screenwriters wish to make four amazingly depressing stories and shove them into one movie. Yes, there is a lack of communication between Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Yes, the deaf girl exacerbates the natural lack of communication she has by her bad choices and pouty attitude. Yes, the Hispanic nephew has a lack of communication with the police. Worst of all is the filmmaker's lack of communication with anyone who would want to watch such pointless and depressing depictions of bad choices.

There are a few nice moments here. Most notably, when Brad and Cate are shown trying to holding hands just after a spat. An excruciating but powerful scene when Cate gets stitches in an unsanitary environment. And an interesting contrast between that loud screaming moment and the jarring jump to the deaf girl's point of view. And the nicest moment of all? When the illegal alien got deported. Yes, they wanted me to be sad for her and feel the tragedy of US immigration policy; but instead, they succeeded in demonstrating the benefits of sending her home. These few nice, cinematic scenes are short moments in an over-long film. For most of the movie, I was just waiting for a depressing situation to be made worse by the characters' stupidity.