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Babel
R3 - Hong Kong - Asia Video Publishing Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (2nd May 2007). |
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The Film
 Filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu started his career in Mexican television and moving onto films with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, the two devised a series of 11 short films that would present the contradictory nature of Mexico City. The project developed 36 different story threads of which 3 were ultimately selected. The result was not a series of short films but instead their first feature film "Amores Perros" (2000). The film garnered critical acclaim and Iñárritu became the hottest filmmaking commodity from Mexico. His follow-up would not disappoint in the emotionally complex "21 Grams" (2003), shot in the similar fractured narrative as "Amores Perros" the film focuses on three stories that interweave with each other. "Babel" is his third in a similar style of film which has come to be known as his "Death Trilogy", expanding on the interwoven structure Iñárritu and screenwriter Arriaga span borders in his equally complex tale of social and political barriers around us determine how we communicate to one another. The film centers on several groups of people in 4 countries that are all connected by one bullet. Each of these segments features the characters outside of their usual surroundings: An American couple, Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) find themselves stranded in Morocco, their Nanny, Amelia (Adriana Barraza) and children Debbie (Elle Fanning) and Mike (Nathan Gamble) find themselves lost in the Mexican/Texas desert somewhere near the border and a deaf Japanese girl, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) is isolated by silence amidst the noise of Tokyo. The film's script is a delicate balancing act between the three main storylines; Arriaga does a fine job in getting across the communication barriers faced by these characters and further emphasizing the reasons behind such barriers. These themes include the perception of Americans from outside the United States, class structure and immigration issues. The narrative structure allows each storyline to unfold culminating in an understanding of how they are all connected, a favorite device of both Iñárritu and Arriaga. Its purpose helps focus your attention as the viewer is constantly immersed into the multi-story line epic. The film's performances and direction are brilliantly conceived, resulting in career best and breakout performances. Brad Pitt pulled out of appearing in "The Departed" (2006) in order to play Richard, the result is the most mature performance of this career. Pitt brings a vulnerability to Richard combined with a hardened resolve makes for a touching and emotionally charged turn. Equally deserving of praise are the ladies, primarily Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi who both received Oscar nominations for their efforts. Kikuchi spent a year auditioning for this film, I initially thought this young woman was actually deaf but as it turns out she is not and that is a testament to how believable her performance truly is, I don't think you can provide a better compliment than that. Heightening the mood of the picture is Gustavo Santaolalla's captivating yet minimalist score. He manages to compliment the scenes rather than manipulate a response from it and each character is presented with their own musical voice. Santaolalla's score was recently awarded the Oscar (he has won this award consecutively with "Brokeback Mountain") for his efforts here. "Babel" is certainly González Iñárritu'smost ambitious film to date; the themes and characters present an important message about our world presently and will likely be regarded as one of the most important films of our time in the years to come. This film is highly recommended.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this transfer is appears to be a port of the US region 1 release, having previously reviewed that edition I was able to compare the two and they are identical in almost every sense. The image is sharp and detail is stunningly represented, grain does feature in this print but it appears as part of the rough aesthetic. The various color palates of each country in which this film is shot is presented here accurately and vibrantly, the filmmaker's managed to create a photographic distinction between the different locations that adds to the mood of the entire film, from the earthy tones of the Moroccan desert to the cold concrete of Japan's capital. I also found that skin tones appear natural, blacks are bold and deep (although at times some minor noise is seen, but this isn't too distracting), shadow detail remains consistent throughout the film. I cold not spot any compression problems or edge-enhancement or any kind.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in English DTS-ES 6.1 discrete and also in English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX surround. Although the track is listed as English other languages are spoken in this film that include Arabic, Berber, French, Japanese and Spanish for these scenes subtitles are included. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its DTS-ES sound track and found it a rich and dynamic experience. It adds another dimension of depth and realism that the standard Dolby Digital track isn't totally capable of (although does a fantastic job in its own right). I found that dialogue is infinitely clear and distortion free but the true star of this track is the incredibly detailed yet subtle ambient sounds and also the delicate and moving score that take it to a new level. It totally immerses the viewer and helps capture the overall tone and mood of the film. As far as DTS-ES tracks go this gets my vote for one of the best surround mixes this year. Optional subtitles are also included in both Chinese Traditional and English, while the subtitles are optional I found that the English subtitles run throughout the entire film including over the English dialogue which is a bit distracting and unnecessary.
Extras
Asia Video Publishing has released this film as a 2-disc set, the first disc is solely dedicated to the film while the second disc includes a feature-length documentary, this is the only extra. The "Making Of Babel" documentary runs for 87 minutes 38 seconds, this staggering feature covers a full gamut of the production from the director's point of view. It's a feature that in a way has been pieced together much like the film itself and jumps back and forth from location to location. Iñárritu takes us through the themes and conceptual narrative elements that makes this film so special in his eyes from the complexity of the script and what it tries to accomplish to transforming Brad Pitt so that the audience forgets that they are watching a mega-star and instead focus on the character and the performance. We also get a look at the challenges of working with non-actors especially the children and also the difficulty of working with hearing impaired people as we follow the production travel from Morocco to Japan to Mexico. This feature provides an in-depth look at how Iñárritu pieced the film together and worked within the various countries and with various performers as well as highlighting the difference in shooting in those different countries. In a way life imitated art in terms of dealing with the communication issues faced by the filmmakers during this 101 day multi-national production. This documentary is a valuable and excellent addition to this DVD.
Packaging
This 2-disc DVD set is packaged in an amaray case that is housed in a cardboard slip-cover.
Overall
Despite the fact that this 2-disc set isn't packed with a lot of extras the feature-length documentary is an excellently crafted supplement to the film that a commentary doesn't seem necessary. For that reason alone I don't hesitate in giving this release a top mark.
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