Babel

Mesmerizing but unconvincing, this film is decidedly less than the sum of its parts, watchable but not believable or parseable. Four farflung vignettes, from Morocco to Japan to the Mexicali border, are mashed up non-chronologically, but the connections are asserted rather than illuminated, a scenarist’s conceit rather than a revealing juxtaposition. The speaking in tongues is more babble than Babel. That said, there is a lot to admire here. The three locations are rendered vividly, as are the various characters. Director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto convey a distinctive feel for disparate locales, and situate each of the actors effectively, but the characters are moved around like pieces on a global chessboard, their motivations assigned instead of emergent from the action, more arbitrary than plausible. Scene by scene, you are swept along, but overall the construction is a crumbling tower, undermined by the filmmakers’ attempt to take a God-like perspective. It is easy to praise the look (and sound) of the film, and the quality of individual performances, but not to be taken in by the whole. Though the most recognized this award season, this is certainly the least of the recent films from the admirable and ambitious three amigos from Mexico, Children of Men and especially Pan’s Labyrinth being more fully realized. (2006, dvd, n.) *6* (MC-69.)