Probably the best movie that Brad Pitt has ever acted in, though all of the acting is superb. Some of the work of the young child actors in this movie is astonishing. This extremely serious, but completely engrossing film draws you, by its ever-more-fateful twists and turns into the lives of three completely disparate families, who, though separated by enormous cultural differences and vast geographic distances, are yet linked by a single ghastly tragedy, and by their own familial conflicts. An amazing piece of cinematic art that owes much of its greatness to the vision of its director, Alejandro Gonzales Innarritu. Very definitely a "must see."

Babel is about a series of interconnected stories that occur across the globe. There are some Arab kids who are sheep farmers in Morocco, an American couple vacationing in that country, their kids who are in California that get taken to Mexico by their nanny, and then a deaf girl in Tokyo. The movie constantly shifts back and forth between the different characters. It turns out to be a tragedy as one bad thing after another befalls the cast.

The first thing that hits you about Babel is how ambitious it is. A man gave a riffle to a farmer whose kids shot a woman involving people from three countries. Of course it also takes a while to understand what exactly the movie is trying to do. The writing alone makes this a very good film although it’s definitely not for everyone. Some will get lost at the start and not be able to keep their interest as a result. People should stick with it because it really makes an intricate painting of how people’s lives can be touched across the globe.

Babel is a wonderful film. The impetus for all the action is the gift of a high-powered rifle owned by a Japanese hunter to a poor Moroccan man. This affects the lives of his poor family, an American couple vacationing in Morocco, the deaf-mute daughter of the hunter in Tokyo, and the children of the Americans being cared for by their Mexican nanny. Told as a non-linear narrative, this film probably confused many. Babel is the greatest cinematic creation of Alejandro González Iñárritu before his triumph with Birdman (winner of the Oscar for Best Picture). Babel is a triumph of filmmaking! (And as in the Tower of Babel, the film at a deeper level, the film concerns the barriers of language.)

I've seen Babel three times now, and I am always entertained. The central theme is the accidental shooting of an American tourist. Brad Pitt,and Kate Blanchett are very moving as a couple trying to find their way after the loss of a child to SIDS. While Pitt, and Blanchett are arguably the biggest stars in this production - they do not have the majority of screen-time. The movie is split into four stories really - the American tourists, the young Moroccan family that owns the rifle used in the shooting, the American couples children being watched by their Mexican care-giver, and finally a deaf Japanese teen grieving her mothers death. The various perspectives are woven together around the hunting rifle, and how it came to be in the hands of the young Moroccan boy. This movie reminds me a lot of Crash - the way the story is told from different perspectives. If you enjoyed crash you will like Babel. There are many morals here, and different viewers will likely draw different morals. Having traveled a great deal I am always struck by how Americans simply don't believe they are susceptible to accidents when traveling to remote locations. That is not the biggest message of this film, but like I said each viewer will find a moral they can sink their teeth into. Beautiful scenery, and excellent acting. I take away one star because I am not a fan of the hand-held camera technique.