Babel
(2006; DVD-Video/HD-DVD/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B-/B+/B+ Sound: B-/B+/B+ Extras: C- Film: B
2006 was
another lame year for films, but a few good ones did get made and I have been
asked more than a few times if Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu’s Babel was really good enough to make so
many “best” lists, get so many nominations and awards and to get so much good
press. Part of the problem is that the
press seems to have difficulty talking about a film with controversial subject
matter, many of whom talk about movies when they never bother to see them and
if it has four storyline like this, forget about any attempts to explain
anything.
Obviously,
the title is a Biblical reference, so give or take those put off by religious
propaganda for which this is not, you are going to get multiple languages
(meaning subtitles too) and confusion among the characters. What is nice about the film is that the
screenplay by Inarritu and Guillermo Arriaga is never stupid, overly simple,
condescending, idiotic, preachy, self-righteous and shallow. Instead, it is deeper and more interesting
than expected and though not one of the best films of the year, it is often
close.
One
storyline has young children in Morocco playing with a rifle for fun, the next
has a couple in conflict (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) are thrown off when she
is hit with one of the bullets, one is about children escaping getting to
another country and one is about young deaf ladies and their integration
troubles into a society of sound that ignores them, treats them badly and/or is
very difficult to integrate into.
That is
just for starters. Like Crash (reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on
this site), the film’s multiple storylines will converge into one whether it
works or not. Crash pushed it and so does this film, though it has resolution
issues Crash did not. Both imitate the multiple storylines of
master filmmaker Robert Altman, a master of such things, but the later
non-Altman films in question run into problems simply because they cannot juggle
the storylines as well as he did or have the kind of life or points he could
pull off as the architect of such cinema.
Yet, Babel has a series of
strong performances and does not hold back in dealing with pain or social
issues.
Gael
Garcia Bernal continues his roll of choice roles in choice films, while Adriana
Barraza is very convincing and powerful in her powerlessness and Rinko Kikiuchi
is equally bold taking on the role of the very, very hurt and hurting young
lady who had enough troubles as a deaf person in a sound world when a murder
issue surfaces!
Sometimes
the film hits bad notes (why does Bernal’s Santiago have to kill a
chicken? Realism?) that make no sense
and throws off both the narrative and rhythm of the film, but that Inarritu
still handles this as well as he does is impressive enough to justify much of
the praise. The actors simply do the
rest and this offers some of the best casting we have seen all year, including
many unknown actors and too many to name here otherwise. It all brings the story up to a cinematic
level that impresses often. That is why
you should see it if you haven’t already.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 on the standard DVD is good, but the 480 lines
just cannot accommodate Rodrigo (A.S.C., A.M.C.) Prieto’s cinematography as
well as the new DVD set of his shooting on Oliver Stone’s Alexander Revisited did, but it still looks good for the
format. However, the 1080p digital High
Definition version on the HD-DVD and Blu-ray are much better and pleasantly equal. Yes, some of the shots are grainy, but that
is minor. Certain stylized work holds
back the picture a bit, but not too much.
In the higher formats, the film is just smoother not unlike its 35mm
presentations.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix on the standard DVD is good, but not always as clear as it
should be. A higher version of the same
Dolby, dubbed “plus” on the HD-DVD, resolves many of the limit issues in both
HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Gustavo
Santaolalla’s score is pretty good, forwarding the narrative instead of
distracting from it. The combination on
DVD is good, but no match for how the HD-DVD and Blu-ray really bring the film
home. Wonder if a DTS HD or Dolby TrueHD
track would have improved playback even more because this mix has some nice
surprises.
The only
extra are a couple of trailers, including one for this film, but this is 143
minutes and the makers might have wanted all that room for the film to playback
nicely. It deserves a larger special
edition at a later date, but that move on the extras is just fine to get the
film out there. Don’t miss it.
- Nicholas Sheffo
