Babel

2006
R
2h 23m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

321K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:32

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

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

321K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

2,538

146

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 45 wins & 137 nominations total

Trivia
The scene where Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) and her father are in the car together was shot without filming permission from the city due to slow Japanese bureaucratic procedures. The crew created "man-made" busy traffic, and began shooting the scene. Later the police started chasing them while still shooting the scene.

Goofs
After the wedding, Amelia, her nephew and the Jones children use the Tecate border crossing to reenter the USA. After fleeing, we are shown a sandy, wide desert where they wander. Actually, the Tecate border crossing is in the mountains, there is no such desert within a reasonable distance on the USA side. What is shown looks like an Arizona border crossing.

Quotes
Mike Jones: My mom said Mexico is dangerous.
Santiago: [in Spanish] Yes, it's full of Mexicans.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Prestige/Flicka/Marie Antoinette/Flags of Our Fathers/A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

Soundtracks
Para Que Regreses
El Chapo
Gabriel Ramirez
Maximo Aguirre Music Publishing, Inc.
D Disa Latin Music, S. de R.L. de C.V

User reviews1K

Review

Featured review

6/10

Smart and ambitious but frustrating to watch

I'm generally not a fan of non-linear storytelling in films - there is usually no reason for it and it can be frustrating and difficult to follow the plot. While the plot in 'Babel' is relatively easy to follow, the film still suffers the same annoying problems as other non-linear films.

The most irritating thing for me is how scenes that are connected and happening at the same time are presented so far apart. At the very start of the film we see kids fire a bullet at a coach, yet the scene that logically goes together with this from inside the coach does come until a significant while later.

The viewer also never gets to properly know any of the characters - there's no time for any character development as the film is constantly going back and forth between characters and situations. As a result, you don't really care for what happens to any of them.

The saving grace of 'Babel' is its ending, which brings everything together and wraps the story up nicely. Even though it can be a frustrating watch at times, 'Babel' is a smart and well-made film.