I don't know what to make of "Babel." I guess I'd have to say I'm glad I saw it, or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I'm not sorry I saw it. But, why was this movie made?

It has provoked much discussion amongst my friends with whom I saw it. The theater had really comfortable seats, for which I was very thankful, as the movie made me feel very uncomfortable throughout.

There are three stories that unwind s-l-o-w-l-y, and the audience is at a loss at first to see how they are connected.

I won't say anything further about the film in case anyone does see it. But this sums up how I felt about it:

It was as if I were a pig roasting on a spit, slowly turning over red hot coals. No relief and not quite sure how I wound up in such a predicament.

I think I'll wait for cable when I can hit pause and go get a glass of water.

Babble, babble, babble, babble, babble, babble, babble. The word babble comes from Babel.

Babble, babble, babble, babble, babble, babble, babble. The word babble comes from Babel.

Indeed, much of the film deals with miscommunication, misdirected actions, misunderstood intentions, poorly made decisions and the impact of those often miscommunicated decisions.

Indeed, much of the film deals with miscommunication, misdirected actions, misunderstood intentions, poorly made decisions and the impact of those often miscommunicated decisions.

Yeah, I saw it too, read the rave reviews, figgered, "Can't miss this!" I found it pointless and utterly depressing. Human beings are not their own puppets, or so I think, anyway...

The key scene for me was not the shooting on the bus but the bad call by the ref at the volleyball game. The ball was clearly out, but the ref called it in.

Those of you who play tennis know about these bad calls. How does one communicate one's view when the other person's view is equally valid in their own mind. Two people can be right, but only one person can be wrong.

Each of the stories that are interconnected in Babel deal with bad calls: in communication, in life, in love, in simply being human.

Many critics are comparing this movie to Crash (a more concise and better movie that has the same message), but I'll push the envelop and compare it to Traffic; for all its globetrotting and massive themes, its storyline came down to one man and his daughter and their lack of communication. So, too, is it with Babel: One man and his daughter connect after a bunch of globetrotting and massive themes. (The Japanese portion of the movie alone would have made a good movie.)

However, wait for the dvd or catch it in a double-feature.

AC

P.S. Or as Lisa would say: "Blah, blah, blah." I couldn't agree more.

Today was the opening day, so I went to a theatre see Babel.

What surfaces in "Babel" is a feverish, desperate desire for communication. Comprised of four segments spanning three continents in locations as disparate as Morocco and Tokyo, the characters make phone calls, text message, weep, kiss and clutch at each other's arms. The need to reach out is so palpable that it hurts; the main emotion recalled by the film is a great, protracted longing for understanding, closeness, that magical moment of actually connecting with someone else. At the same time you realize, too, the difficulty of this undertaking.

Indeed, this is another Clash-like story. But this "Babel" was large scale than Crash. Morocco, Japan, Mexico. They have different languages. This movie is about language difficulties. But even if our languages are different, we can somehow understand each other. After all, we are same human who live on one planet.

(The Japanese portion of the movie alone would have made a good movie.)

Rinko Kikuchi who played Chieko was terrific, wasn't she?

Today was the opening day, so I went to a theatre see Babel.

What surfaces in "Babel" is a feverish, desperate desire for communication. Comprised of four segments spanning three continents in locations as disparate as Morocco and Tokyo, the characters make phone calls, text message, weep, kiss and clutch at each other's arms. The need to reach out is so palpable that it hurts; the main emotion recalled by the film is a great, protracted longing for understanding, closeness, that magical moment of actually connecting with someone else. At the same time you realize, too, the difficulty of this undertaking.

Nice summary, Kenji. You're quoting someone?

Indeed, this is another Clash-like story. But this "Babel" was large scale than Crash. Morocco, Japan, Mexico. They have different languages. This movie is about language difficulties. But even if our languages are different, we can somehow understand each other. After all, we are same human who live on one planet.

Yes, it seemed, though, that it took catastrophes in the lives of the protaganists to make them stop and take the time and effort to understand each other.

Rinko Kikuchi who played Chieko was terrific, wasn't she?

She was wonderful. I thought she was the best thing in "Babel," and her story was so touching.