But seriously now. This movie may be one of the better primers in support of the theory that a half-decent drama is tenfolds easier to make than a satisfactory comedy. When comedies suck, they just, well, suck. With dramas, especially those in the vein of "Babel", there're subtle degrees and emotional levels, there're striking locations and various other visual aspects the viewer can focus on - all of which means that it's almost always possible to salvage at least some enjoyment out of a sub par dramatic effort such as this one.
Babel is far from terrible and it's a safe distance away from bad, but, unfortunately, it is also long way away from great.
We're presented with four story lines on 3 continents whose overreaching inter-connections feel a little hokey and forced, making it hard to take them organically and not as artificially inserted plot devices.
Two story lines that have the most immediate link - the vacationing, marriage-crisis-experiencing American couple and the two sheep-herding kid brothers who fire a rifle at a tourist bus in Morrocco - are the most suspenseful and gripping though still fail to inspire anything more than mild approval. Too many times both stories approach, or even briefly cross into the cheesy thriller territory.
On the other hand the Japan storyline involving a deaf-mute teenage girl facing life without a mother who recently committed suicide, being cared for solely by her busy businessman father, allthewhile going through the hormonal throws of adolescence and struggling to make a connection with the world around her, is far more effective.
Babel is far from terrible and it's a safe distance away from bad, but, unfortunately, it is also long way away from great.
We're presented with four story lines on 3 continents whose overreaching inter-connections feel a little hokey and forced, making it hard to take them organically and not as artificially inserted plot devices.
Two story lines that have the most immediate link - the vacationing, marriage-crisis-experiencing American couple and the two sheep-herding kid brothers who fire a rifle at a tourist bus in Morrocco - are the most suspenseful and gripping though still fail to inspire anything more than mild approval. Too many times both stories approach, or even briefly cross into the cheesy thriller territory.
On the other hand the Japan storyline involving a deaf-mute teenage girl facing life without a mother who recently committed suicide, being cared for solely by her busy businessman father, allthewhile going through the hormonal throws of adolescence and struggling to make a connection with the world around her, is far more effective.