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by Chad Maddux Published: September 10, 2007
The film encompasses a vast array of people caught up in a world not meant for them. American tourists in an untrusting African nation. An illegal Mexican immigrant in an unforgiving United States. Small children lost in the desert. A deaf teenager in a world of sound. They are separeted by their differences, but they are united in their sorrow. The ensemble cast stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett as American tourists Richard and Susan Jones vacationing in Morocco. While riding on a tour bus through the desert, Susan is inaverdently struck by a bullet. Hours from a hospital, Richard accepts an offer from the tour guide, Anwar, to travel to his village to seek help from a doctor and await rescue. Richard must struggle to comfort his wife while keeping his only means of transporation, a bus full of intolerant and impatient Americans, from leaving as they await the bureaucratic scrambling for an ambulance. Abdullah, a hard-working Moroccan goat farmer, acquired a powerful weapon to erradicate predators that prey on his goats. While away for the day, he leaves his two boys to keep watch. While testing the newly-acquired weapon's range, the younger boy takes aim at a bus in the distance and fires. Hearing screams as the bus stops, they realize what they have done and scramble from the mountainside. In San Diego, California, Amelia (Adriana Barraza), an illegal Mexican immigrant is playing nanny to the American children she has raised since they were born. Unable to find a day-long replacement so she can attend her son's wedding in Mexico, she takes the children with her into the heart of Mexican culture. In Japan, an angst-ridden deaf teenager tries to find acceptance. The motherless Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) subjects herself to degradation to overcome the difference others cannot embrace. Her father, a businessman, struggles to maintain a relationship with a daughter with whom he can communicate but can never understand. The entire film plays perfectly out of sequence, with each subplot unfolding simultaneously but never in order with each other. Their staggered alignment is easy to follow, making the unique presentation a compliment, rather than a distraction, to the film's chaos. The strong cultural presentations accompanied by flawless performances made for an intensly emotional film. The cast list is spotted with a number of first-time actors, each of whom performed like veterans. The veteran actors were equally as powerful. Gael García Bernal, Mexican actor most famous in America for his starring role in "Y Tu Mama Tambien," plays Santiago, Amelia's nephew and driver to (and from) Mexico. Pitt and Blanchett delivered excellent portrayals of a bitter couple who are discovering their unbreakable bond. Kikuchi's portrayal of a teenager desperately seeking love could substitute for a teenager in any culture. Finally, Barraza's gut-wrenching performance in the latter-half of the film was remarkable. It earned her an Academy Award nomination and was, by far, the best performance of the entire film. Accompanying the cinematic gem is a beautiful and eloquent soundtrack from Gustavo Santaolalla, also earning a nod from the Academy. In all, the film was nominated seven times for an Oscar. My pick for Best Picture, the film lost to "The Departed," another powerful drama that wasn't nearly as remarkable. It was also nominated alongside "Little Miss Sunshine", "The Queen", and the unbearably dull "Letters from Iwo Jima." A second disc is devoted entirely to "Common Ground: Under Construction Notes" which chronicles the film's development on multiple levels beyond just cinematic. Iñárritu guides viewers on his journey through the film, broken down by geographical boundaries, and what the film means to him, which has nothing to do with those geographical boundaries. It includes the challenges and dangers of filming in foreign locations. And he isn't afraid to challenge a culture to change. Even the Japanese mafia (the real one) participates. Rarely do I enjoy these featurettes but this one is exceptional. "Common Ground" is basically a second film at 90 minutes long...and worth every minute of it. On my list of all-time favorites, "Babel" takes the ninth spot as my praises for it have run out. It's a welcome relief from the stale monotony of current releases. The staggered, interwoven storyline came alive beautifully thanks to superb casting. If you are looking for true cinematic enjoyment, "Babel" is spectacular. "Babel" is rated R for Violence, Some Graphic Nudity, Sexual Content, Language, and Some Drug Use. |
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