Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's latest sprawling, dispersed art-film blockbuster prompts a question: Does he just not know how to tell a story?
Babel
If You Want to be Understood... Listen.
2006 · 2h 23m · R
Drama
Directed by
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Overview
Tragedy strikes a married couple vacationing in the Moroccan desert, which jumpstarts an interlocking story involving four different families.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
If misery is your pornography, Babel is your holy grail.
It's a great film made with style and heart and hope, a cautionary parable and an almost certain Oscar contender.
The experience of watching Babel is undeniably riveting: Even if the film doesn't really lead anywhere, you still can't take your eyes off it.
[Inarritu] remains as entranced as ever by fate, loss and the interconnectedness of humankind, and I admire him for it. But Babel isn't the last or best word on that subject. It's just a lot of talk.
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