"Babel"
This weekend I went to see Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest film. The essential plot structure is a blending of 4 separate but related stories, giving us the "six degrees of separation" theme that appears to be more and more popular as of late. I had mixed reactions to this film as it seemed to have a great deal of potential at the outset that failed to completely materialize towards the close.
The title of the film alludes of course to the mythical "tower of Babel," the construction of which supposedly so angered the God of the Bible that from that moment on the people of the world spoke different languages as punishment. However, miscommunication and misunderstanding, while evident in most of the scenes, does not play as significant a role in driving the plot as the name might suggest. Some may argue that it is exactly the director's subtle use of this device that makes the film so masterful, but in this case I would point out that subtlety does not equate to effectiveness.
I also felt that while several scenes were emotionally gripping, not all of the characters were as well-developed as they might have been.
What this movie excels at is its audio-visual complexity. In this category it is quite stunning, if not quite exactly ground-breaking. In fact, it is ironic that these aspects, NOT dialogue, are the biggest strengths of a film with this title. Perhaps that was intentional.
Although there are narrative and thematic parallels with last year's blockbuster "Crash," I felt that "Babel" lacked the intensity and character tension of the former.
Overall, it seemed to me that "Babel" was perhaps trying to accomplish more than it was able to deliver through it's methods. Having said that, I would recommend this movie to those who are looking for more in a film than just visceral stimulation, as it is complex enough to support a variety of opinions and interpretations.
The title of the film alludes of course to the mythical "tower of Babel," the construction of which supposedly so angered the God of the Bible that from that moment on the people of the world spoke different languages as punishment. However, miscommunication and misunderstanding, while evident in most of the scenes, does not play as significant a role in driving the plot as the name might suggest. Some may argue that it is exactly the director's subtle use of this device that makes the film so masterful, but in this case I would point out that subtlety does not equate to effectiveness.
I also felt that while several scenes were emotionally gripping, not all of the characters were as well-developed as they might have been.
What this movie excels at is its audio-visual complexity. In this category it is quite stunning, if not quite exactly ground-breaking. In fact, it is ironic that these aspects, NOT dialogue, are the biggest strengths of a film with this title. Perhaps that was intentional.
Although there are narrative and thematic parallels with last year's blockbuster "Crash," I felt that "Babel" lacked the intensity and character tension of the former.
Overall, it seemed to me that "Babel" was perhaps trying to accomplish more than it was able to deliver through it's methods. Having said that, I would recommend this movie to those who are looking for more in a film than just visceral stimulation, as it is complex enough to support a variety of opinions and interpretations.
posted by JC at 7:15 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home