BABEL

BABEL

Babel is a multi-narrative film with multiple stories, characters and perspectives and with colliding time and space yet, the film Babel tackled the different issues around the globe and really presented what was happening in reality that each of us were experiencing or soon will be.

The film presented four situations involving the characters in each scene having different struggles and motivations. Also, the film had presented different issues such as the economic difference of each country, the inaccurate information of media, the peer pressure experiencing by those teenagers and the international displacement of labor.

Let’s tackle first the life of Susan (Cate Blanchette) and Richard (Brad Pitt) who were still in pain due to their child’s death; having their vacation at Morroco and experiencing unexpected tragedy when Susan was shot by a bullet that appeared from nowhere, the couple was so much in fear and confusion, wondering who the suspect could be. Then, the issue was spread and the media concluded that it was a terrorist attack making it worst to the part of Yuseff and his brother Ahmed who shoots the bullet unintentionally.

 Yuseff (Boubker Ait El Caid) and Ahmed are at the same time having their motivation in terms of who among them is the best son. Jealousy and rivalry is the issue of the two brothers that end up in committing such an innocent crime.

As we see in the movie, it was also presented the economic difference of each country. Yusseff and Ahmed living in Morroco having the same culture and having poor economic status, wherein in America, the children was living a happy and secured life with their nanny Amelia having a parents who can provide all their needs. 

In connection, Amelia, (Andriana Barraza) the nanny of the two kids were having a trouble in processing her documents and works illegally in America, this presented the common problems of every overseas workers who decided to work abroad and the horror that awaits if get caught by the officials. Amelia was portrayed as a loving and caring nanny of the two kids; she was so eager to attend to his son’s wedding and decided to leave the children to the other nannies, who were also working there, yet all of them refuse due to some personal reasons, so Amelia decided to bring the children with her. Amelia had achieved her goal in attending his son’s wedding but the conflict is still about to start. On their way home, his nephew Santiago chooses to travel in different route for them to arrive easily but due to the check point that the police officer  were conducting at that time, they were stuck in a gasoline station, Santiago was worried and hesitant. The police officer asked Amelia for the children’s parents consent but Amelia couldn’t show such thing. Santiago drove the car as fast as he could and they were chased by the police officers. This scene creates terror to the children who just experience this kind of situation, thus, this tries to imply our first time and how we will be clueless on how things will end. In the case of Santiago, he left and abandoned the children and his Aunt Amelia in the dessert. Amelia was in a situation wherein she has to save the life of the children, the safety of the two relies in her hands.

While in Tokyo, a girl named Chieko, (Rinko Kikuchi)  who at that time experiencing a peer pressure being with her friends. In her case, she struggles for love and affection and at some point the acceptance of the society in her condition. It was portrayed in her role how it was to be a deaf girl and how hard it is to be misunderstood and to think that no one cares and no man could accept her. At some point, we see Chieko as an insecure girl, knowing she has this kind of condition was a struggle for her, the death of her mother made it worst making her feel all alone without nobody to lean on and being left out of her friends she thought she could count on.

These four characters from different places, owning different language and practicing different culture were connected with one single thing.

Babel is a film that presented the reality of life, the different situations makes the viewer’s appreciate the film for at some point, they had experience such situations.  Although it is a multi-narrative film, it has no intention to confuse the viewer’s rather its objective is to make the viewer’s understand the story and the struggle that each character is facing. As we can see each character possess different motivations and each motivations was effectively portrayed in the movie.

Despite the class differences, each character in Babel grapples with a life-like obstacle. Susan and Richard, an upper class couple, tries to revive their marriage in a holiday destination to forget the pain of their child’s death; the African family, though intact and happy, struggles in having low income; Amelia, immigrant labourer, wants to attend her son’s wedding in Mexico when she is obliged to look after two children in the USA; Chieko, thedeaf mute, motherless who tries to overcome with the loneliness coming upon her in a city. All of these are the motivation of each character that was successfully presented in the film.

In the ending, we might say that the movie ends leaving us hanging. Yes, it might be true, in the case of Amelia during the interrogation, the police officer had deported her and said that she has to go back home, she asked about the children but the officer said that it was none of her business yet it gave us clue that the children were safe. In the case of the Amelia, she was left clueless, and there are some points in our life wherein we were left clueless, having no idea with someone we care a lot. In Morroco, it was being showed how Yusseff surrendered and how Ahmed was killed, despite the rivalry Yuseff had a flashback of the happy moment they have with his brother Ahmed making the movie more realistic, when we lost someone we love we are bound to remember the memories we spent with them. Susan and Richard were rescued and were safe and that tragedy strengthened their relationship as a couple while in Tokyo, Chieko had found the love and acceptance she had longed to his father.