Babel (2006)

Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving four different families.

Director:

Alejandro G. Iñárritu (as Alejandro González Iñárritu)

Writers:

Guillermo Arriaga, Guillermo Arriaga (idea)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal

Won 1 Oscar. Another 42 wins & 135 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Richard
Cate Blanchett	...	Susan
Mohamed Akhzam	...	Anwar
Peter Wight	...	Tom
Harriet Walter	...	Lilly
Trevor Martin	...	Douglas
Matyelok Gibbs	...	Elyse
Georges Bousquet	...	Robert
Claudine Acs	...	Jane
André Oumansky	...	Walter
Michael Maloney	...	James
Dermot Crowley	...	Barth
Wendy Nottingham	...	Tourist
Henry Maratray	...	Tourist
Linda Broughton	...	Tourist

Storyline

4 interlocking stories connected by a single gun converge at the end to reveal a complex and tragic story of the lives of humanity around the world and how we truly aren't all that different. In Morocco, a troubled married couple are on vacation trying to work out their differences. Meanwhile, a Moroccan herder buys a rifle for his sons so they can keep the jackals away from his herd. A girl in Japan dealing with rejection, the death of her mother, the emotional distance of her father, her own self-consciousness, and a disability among many other issues, deals with modern life in the enormous metropolis of Tokyo, Japan. Then, on the opposite side of the world the married couple's Mexican nanny takes the couple's 2 children with her to her son's wedding in Mexico, only to come into trouble on the return trip. Combined, it provides a powerful story and an equally powerful looking glass into the lives of seemingly random people around the world and it shows just how connected we really ...

---

Plot Keywords:

original story | american | deaf girl | mini skirt | public nudity | 

---

Taglines:

Tragedy is universal

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, some graphic nudity, sexual content, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

West Video [Russia]

Country:

France USA Mexico

Language:

English Arabic Spanish Japanese Berber languages French Russian Japanese Sign Language

Release Date:

10 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Вавилон

Filming Locations:

Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$389,351, 29 October 2006

Gross USA:

$34,302,837

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$135,330,182

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Anonymous Content

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brad Pitt gave up one of the starring roles in The Departed (2006) (a film he co-produced) in order to participate in this film, as he's a longtime fan of Alejandro G. Iñárritu's films.

---

Goofs

When we first see Amelia, she is receiving a call from Richard. She asks him to find someone to care for his children so she can attend her son's wedding in Mexico. He says it's impossible(Susan has been shot in Morocco). Much later, after we have seen Susan airlifted to a hospital, we see the same call, from Richard's end, in which he tells Amelia that "Rachel" is coming to care for the children, so that Amelia can go to the wedding.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Hassan: It's almost new. Three hundred cartridges. The guy who gave it to me said you can hit as far as three kilometers.

---

Connections

Featured in Laia Laiona (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Charge of the Herd
Philip A. Scheib
©Courtesy of Paramount Picture Corporation

User Reviews

A Bit Of Teaching, A Lot Of Preaching, Oodles of Talent

I loved "Amores Perros" It was revolutionary in so many ways and smelled like the real thing even if I couldn't quite put my finger as to what the real thing really was. "21 Grams" had gigantic intentions and superb performances but didn't feel quite revolutionary because we had kind of seen it before - and better - in "Amores Perros". Now "Babel" and, my goodness, the first thing that comes to mind is, what an extraordinary filmmaker Inarritu really is. I suspect that his universe, even if it feels infinite, it is framed - beautifully so - between the walls of biblical references. His methods may be way ahead of the times but the roots are as ancestral as fire itself. I'm not sure where I want to go with all this but the question is, Inarritu is taking me places and that's what I long for in a filmmaker. He's not taking any of us for granted and I'm very grateful for that. His movies are experiences and I for one can't wait for the next one.