CONCENTRIC CirCleS!! . Review on Babel Movie

Babel

Its a mystery till date. What does it mean? Some say it means a confusion of language, noise? Some say that it is derived from the historical reference to Babylon? Its very rhetoric. But the script writers sure had a job on hand in creating the **right amount of confusion, noise and the right amount of intrigue!

Melodrama, chaos, sadistic, cruel - all these adjectives apply very aptly to this third film by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu! His first two being, Amores Perros, 21 Grams and now *Babel.

Pain is Universal. Hope to survive the pain is a mans job! Coping withdifficulties and getting out of it unscathed, is the governance of the Lord. But, suffering PAIN, even more painfully, is the **penance paid by Man to the Lord!

*Emphatic, but true!

The writer, Guillermo Ariaga, who has been on the team with Alejandro forAmores Perros(Love's A Bh, English), 21 Grams and now Babel, haswon an ALMA for Babel and was nominated for an Oscar for the same film. The dedication and the focus of Alejandro's team is commendable! They have been able to create a noise, confusion and yet managed to pay penance to Him, by virtue of creating a clutter which at the end noiselessly ties up all the loose ends into one beautiful canvass of human emotions embroiled in a bitter battle for survival in a land which is completely barren and devoid of understanding language and communications! **Babel infuses the correct dose of emotional curiosity which entails you to mentally pray to Him to let the sufferers be winners in the end!

There are four stories to contend with.Confusion galore, **  right from the beginning.

*Story 1

It opens in the vastlands of Morocco, which is devoid of green vegetation, windy and chilly evenings, hot and unbearably sweaty afternoons. Two young boys are showing off the rifle that their father has recently purchased fromHassan Ibrahim. **Their father leaves them the task of killing 3 jackals till he returns from the market by evening. The young guys boast oftheir skills on the ruthless mountains of Morocco. The intrigue of believing that a bullet  fired from this rifle can travel 3 kms sees these young men firing from the rifle at a Busa going on a narrow path below the same mountain!

*Story 2

An all American tourist troupe has arrived in Morocco to visit and tour the mysteries and the mystic of this country.Bradd Pitt andCate Blanchett are a couple who have a grief that they share and are at logger heads as to why such an incident took place in their life at all. They are a couple out to find answers for their troubles and their two children are back home in San Diego under the care ofAmelia(Adriana Barraza, nominated for an Oscar in this film). They have now resumed their journey to another part of Morocco when suddenly Cate turns to Bradd and he sees blood gushing from her shoulder. Their GuideMohammed(Mustapha Amhita), **helps Bradd into his house in Erfoud and even calls a local vet doctor to help ease Cate's pain. Bradd shamelessly abuses his fellow tourists and even his generous host in a bid to make sure his wife LIVES! The Embassy and the Moroccan Government are trying their best to help ease this couple out of trouble. But America pounces at this country as a terrorist attack and the government refuses to rush to the spot at all denying terrorism.

*Story 3

A deaf and mute japanese girl **Cheiko(Rinko Kikuchi) is undergoing a turbulent relationship with her father. She is still geting over the shock and is also in the midst of mentally adjusting to the fact that she is also attaining sexual maturity. She also has her crushes and wants that need instant satisfaction. Her father has gone into a subliminal silence after his wife's death and is dealing with the authorities for the mysterious death. He was also an ardent Hunter!

*Story 4

Amelia, has the task of taking care of Bardd's children. She is presneted with the most difficult task of postponing her son's wedding at her hometown in Mexico 45 minutes across the border from where she currently baby sits! Cate's sisiter Rachael is supposed to relieve her for the same. Rachael cant make it and the problem deepens. She decides to take the children along with her to the ceremony and thus decides tosolve her problem. While on the way back her, her nephew **Santiago, loses his senses after the night of merrymaking and revelry and breaks across the borderonly to leave his aunt and the children in the dark forest without any aid to protect them and a hollow promise to return back!

I can join all these stories and relieve you of the stupendous drama of human recognition and behaviour in the given circumstances. But that would be utter injustice!

*This film is to be seen to believe the misconceptions and the preconceived behavioural patterns that developing nations have about others. They make the mistake of NOT LISTENING to these smaller countries and then aggravate the dangers of their own kin. The repsonses are completely heart wrenching to each of the above stories. And what brings them together is equally more stupefying!

Its like Concentric Circles, they never meet but are so attached toeach other! The radius decreases to accomodate each other but the ultimate point of meeting is so minute that you cannot even envisage the centre where it originates from. That is utter CONFUSION!

Babel, is not incoherent but very integral part of every human being living on this earth. It is about people. Its about space. Its about understanding and then reacting. Sometimes its better to hear the other side as well!

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Diwali and a very properous New Year!*