*Yussef: I killed the American, I was the only one who shot at you. They did nothing... nothing. Kill me, but save my brother, he did nothing... nothing. Save my brother... he did nothing.



Babel
Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Rinko Kikuchi
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu


THE CASE: An ensemble piece involving four intertwined stories: An American man who’s wife is accidentally shot in Morocco while they are vacationing there, a poor Moroccan family that purchases a rifle to protect their goats, an isolated deaf/mute Japanese girl and her father deal with the silence in their lives, and a Mexican nanny/housekeeper runs into problems with US Customs.


THE GOOD: Strong performance by Cate Blanchett as usual and a very gutsy performance by Rinko Kikuchi (and not just because she has a lot of nude scenes). A well-executed film as you would expect from the writing and directing team behind 21 Grams and Amores Perros.


THE BAD: A little too well executed. Yes, the film is full of high caliber drama and yes, the film is full of tragic and deep storytelling -- but no, it is not entertaining. The film is way too incredibly smug for its own good. Audiences have seen films like this before and if you are going to do a film like this -- at least have the courtesy of giving it a point other than trying to win a bunch of awards. Babel is basically nothing more than a bunch of babel and yes, I realize that may be the point of the whole film -- but come on! -- at least make it fun.


THE LAW: Babel is one of those films that is incredibly award-friendly, but also incredibly boring. Kind of like the boyfriend or girlfriend that your parents absolutely love but is an absolute bore in bed.