Just to reiterate, I’m not boxing spoilers in this thread, so if you’re planning to go see the film, avert yer eyes, mateys.
So I just got back from seeing the movie Babel (Brad Pitt, Kate Winslett). I went into the film knowing absolutely NOTHING about it other than that it was 2.5 hours long – I was invited along, so I went. I have to say that I thought it was a good film. It wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was definitely interesting and involving. (I don’t want to use the word “enjoyed” because wow, what a downer.)
The two people I went to see the movie with thought it was overlong and that the Japanese storyline could/should have been left out altogether. While I agree that a few minutes could have been shaved here and there, I found that the Japanese girl’s story fit the theme of the movie well, even if it was only loosely tied to the other two.
My wife and I have been trying to figure out what the message said that the Japanese girl gave to the detective. The theory was put for that it was a suicide note that she’d written before the detective arrived, and that she simply hadn’t mdae up her mind about jumping before her father got home. On the other hand, I don’t think the detective’s reaction upon reading the note fit with it being a suicide note. Any thoughts here?
So who’s seen this, and what did you think? Please discuss.
Wow…thanks folks. I’m so sorry. I was wondering why I hadn’t even heard of it until my wife and a friend took me to see it. I had no idea it wasn’t in wide release.
Well, here’s hoping the thread takes off in a week and a half. :o
I saw it yesterday. I really enjoyed this movie. Not perfect by any means.
The Mexico story started well and then turned ridiculous. The moment they were stopped at the border I wrote the rest of the plot in my head in about 5 seconds. I really really wanted to be wrong. Unfortunately I was right. It was especially odd that even though we are told the children survive, we never see them again in the movie.
The Tokyo story was by far the most interesting. My view is probably biased because I was in Tokyo less than a month ago (I actually hung out in the park where Cheiko meets her freinds and does X and whiskey.) I would have watched an entire movie about her. It took far too long to establish how it was connected to the other two plots. It wasn’t done in a way that made me curious, it was just done in a way that annoyed me.
The Morrocco story was also well done. Great performances by everyone.
If the film is going to cut back-and-forth between episodes, I feel like there should be some temporal correlation. The Mexico story, the Japan story, and most of the story of Abdullah and his sons (except for the first scene of the movie) all take place after the Pitt/Blanchett story. This is not stated explicitly in the movie, but there are plenty of indicators. So there’s kind of a whiplash, jumping back-and-forth in time.
Also, except for Chieko’s story, the plot seemed more driven by bad decisions than by communication problems.
All of that said, it was a beautifully shot, incredibly evocative, well plotted, well acted, moving story.
I thought it was terrific, was it really 2 1/2 hours? I barely realized it was long. I thought it was well balanced, and I was most moved by the Japanese story, guess I could relate to it more, as always, YMMV
Saw it, thought it was a good contender for Best Picture of the Year. Gael García Bernal, Adriana Barraza, and Rinko Kikuchi are all unbelievable. Three thumbs up.
Reviving this thread. Probably to no avail, but I want my post recorded for posterity!
I saw it yesterday and enjoyed it. Like others have said, it wasn’t a perfect film, but a good effort.
I liked the Japanese thread, but it felt tacked on. The relation to the overall story was mild and not terribly important.
I look at this like four movies (the Moroccan boys, Pitt/Blanchett, Japan, and Mexico). The link was largely unimportant.
What was important was that all of the segments were interesting. That is enough for me.
One more thing. Is Brad Pitt’s “Oscar Buzz” undeserved? He was fine in the film, a solid job, but his performance was not one that made me focus on him. If his name had been Brad Smith, no one would have praised that performance over any other in the film.
I’d come closer to giving a nomination to the Japanese Girl. She did a heck of a lot of acting without actually speaking.
