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 & 134 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

american | mexican border | mini skirt | public nudity | female rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

A single gunshot heard around the world.

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Genres:

Drama

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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, Limited Release

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

Almost all of the film, even the driving scenes, was shot using a hand-held camera.

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Goofs

When the boys with the rifle are on top of the hill, looking down at the approaching bus, it is coming from the left. When they shot at the bus, it should have it on the roof or on its left side. However, inside the bus, it is later seen that Cate Blanchett has been shot, she is against a window on the left side of the bus. The bullet hole is in the window on the left side of the bus, rather than on the right from where it was shot.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Robot Chicken: Slaughterhouse on the Prairie (2007)

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Soundtracks

Oh My Juliet!
Performed by Takashi Fujii
Written by Tommy February 6 and Malibu Convertible
R and C Ltd
©Myrica Music, Inc.

User Reviews

review from Rio

Just saw the movie at the Rio Film Festival. Crash-like or not, the film is not the first to tell a story of intertwined events, nor will it be the last. Discussions about screenplay similarity are irrelevant. What should be considered is the story being told by the very competent director, Alejandro González Iñárritu. It is a tale of different lives and the choices people make. Choices made in extreme situations and how their repercussions are interpreted and dealt with around the globe. It is also about how misconceptions and stereotypifications are unfair and misleading. The movie will not please some, but at least it brings light to a debate on human relations and cultural identities that is much needed in the world today.