FAQ

From Wikipedia

Within the film, the note's contents are never revealed. Part of it is momentarily visible to the viewer. The following is an approximate translation of the Japanese script beginning with the first line of the lower half of the notebook page, where "[EDGE]" indicates the end of that particular line on the notebook page:

. . . I wanted [EDGE] . . . myself [EDGE] . . . that's why [EDGE] . . . connected [EDGE] . . . that is [EDGE] . . . although I cannot [EDGE] . . . I have to find out [EDGE] . . . message from my mother [EDGE] . . . I was not sure if I was loved by my mother [EDGE] . . . but that's not the case . . . [EDGE] thank you.

Babel refers to the story of the Tower of Babel in the Biblical Book of Genesis. In the story, the people of the world are all united and speak a common language. They begin to build a tower to reach the heavens and become godlike themselves. God, seeing this, decides to confuse the language of the people and destroy the tower. When the people could no longer understand each other, they gave up work on the tower and spread out to different parts of the world.

Babel also refers to the connections -or lack thereof- that come through the use of language. In each storyline the characters struggle with surviving and self-identification based on misunderstanding through a language barrier. This film ultimately looks at the fact that we are all intimately connected on a life-and-death level, yet the trivialities of language and misunderstandings break us apart.

The word 'babel' itself also means a confused noise created by a number of voices, which is essentially what the story of the movie is.

English is spoken in about one-third of the film. Languages spoken throughout the film include Spanish, Arabic, French, Japanese, and an unspecified form of Sign Language, possibly Japanese Sign Language. Subtitles are used when English is not spoken and there is an option for deaf and hard of hearing viewers to turn on subtitles during the English-speaking portions.

If Chieko's mother shot herself with that rifle, it is highly unlikely that Chieko's father would take it on a hunting expedition to Morocco due to his obvious grief over the loss of his wife which is clearly expressed in the movie. Chieko's mother could not have shot herself with that rifle after the hunting trip because Chieko's father gave it to his Moroccan guide.

It is safe to say that the smoke contained some sort of narcotic rather than simply tobacco due to the obvious soothing effect expressed by Susan Jones after inhaling the smoke. Given that Morocco is one of the world's largest producers of Cannabis, some have suggested that the pipe most likely contained hashish, which is made from Cannabis. However, considering 1) the type of pipe used, 2) the small amount taken, 3) the apparent anesthetic and soporific effects, and 4) the rapid onset of the effects; it seems more likely that the pipe contained opium, not hashish.

After five days, she was released and went home.

The kids (Mike and Debbie) had soccer practice on Sunday morning. Santiago and Amelia thought that was more important than getting rest and shaking off their intoxication. Even if Amelia and Santiago waited until Sunday to return to America, they would've likely been arrested due to not having permission slips from their parents, Richard and Susan.

1. Susan/Richard + Chieko: These two stories can be happening concurrently, because the officers look for Yasujiro, Chieko's father, to ask him about his hunting rifle, the one that Yussef shot Susan with. However, the last scene with detective Kenji Mamiya watching the news five days after the initial shooting incident, so it is also possible that Chieko's story is after Susan/Richard.

2. Amelia

A radio news announcement is made in the midst of village scenes. The radio announcer informs the listeners about the incident involving an American tourist and delay in arranging heli-ambulance. As a result, in the movie, this has subsequently delayed the evacuation of Susan to the hospital.

Can anyone share the radio station details and the language in which the news was broadcast? Does the radio station really exists or is it a fictitious scene?