Flick Picks
May 2007

Babel
Reviewed by Cynthia Burr Larson

I sincerely hope that people in Northeast Washington, and any small town, see Babel, because this film shows just how closely related we really are to others in the world. I loved the movie Crash for that very reason, because it also showed how lives are woven together without those involved even knowing it.

Babel begins in Morocco with a family of goat herders who purchase a gun to protect their herd from jackals. Then there is an American couple, Susan (Kate Blanchett) and Richard (Brad Pitt), stuck in a strained marriage and on vacation in Morocco. Then there is the Mexican nanny Amelia (Adraina Barraza), who is looking after the children of Richard and Susan, and has to attend her son's wedding in Mexico. Meanwhile there is a deaf Japanese girl who struggles to be accepted. This film delves into how one poor choice can lead to irreparable consequences in others' lives. It illustrates how we are all an integral part of this puzzle called life, and that any one of us could be caught up into the "Butterfly Effect" of something that happens somewhere else.

I was mesmerized by the story and its development, impressed with the direction of Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, moved to tears at times by the very consistent acting, and impressed with the entire package. It is the kind of film I truly enjoy watching, and I highly recommend. Rated R.

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The North Columbia Monthly provides news, views, humor and a calendar of events for an area that stretches from Nelson in British Columbia south to Spokane in Washington State and covers all points in between. A free (and free-thinking, progressive) magazine, The Monthly is available at several hundred spots throughout the region and now is also available on-line at www.ncmonthly.com. Published once a month since 1994, The Monthly is an independent magazine that often challenges contemporary wisdom by encouraging critical thinking about issues and attitudes in the region and beyond.

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