Netflix Picks: Babel

So I'm a huge fan of movies. And of movie reviews. Every time I finish a movie, I have to head over to imdb.com to read the reviews (I don't usually read reviews before I see a film, because I feel like they influence my reaction. I prefer to go in with an open mind.) I also like to write my own reviews, but I frankly can't keep up with the new releases. I just don't have the time or money to go to the movies that often. But I do have Netflix, and watching rental movies is one of my favorite "school night" activities. Still, the huge selection makes it tough to narrow down my options. Since I assume others have the same problem, I thought I'd start reviewing the movies I rent to maybe help you all find something you'd like.

There's no real theme to this. You might find a review of a classic, or a western, or a comedy, or you might find a review for a contemporary indie. Whatever I rent, I'll review. Hope it helps you find the next title for your queue!

Babel, 2006.

Summary: Four different storylines are woven together by a single tragedy that has a sort of ripple effect, and causes unseen consequences in the lives of those connected to it. A boy shoots a gun, the bullet ends up piercing a woman's shoulder, and her children are left in the care of a nanny while the woman and her husband struggle to save her life. The nanny makes a potentially harmless decision that ends up having dire consequences, and the story comes full-circle as the gun-shooting boy's life becomes irreparably damaged by his mistake. And the communication issues that stem from language and cultural barriers are the root cause of all of the tragedies. This film shows how our words and our ways of life can cause such confusion that our intentions are lost.

Opinion: So the first time I watched this film, the subtitles for some reason did not automatically pop up, and I spent the first hour or so watching people literally babbling at each other in various languages. Judging from the title, I thought that it was a deliberate touch from the director -- and that we viewers were supposed to garner what information we could from the visuals, as opposed to the dialogue.

But that got old pretty quick, and I never did finish watching the film. This time around, those handy subtitles provided a whole different experience (duh), and I was captivated by the entire two-plus hours of it. I've heard many critics made the argument that the Tokyo sequence seems a little thrown into the mix, and I have to agree. It was also the most uncomfortable portion to watch. I am not a fan of seeing all the ways a very disturbed young deaf woman can humiliate herself inside of one day.

Saddest was the story of the family living on the Moroccan countryside. The careless, immature actions of a young boy set off a chain of events that spin quickly and wildly out of control, and his family pays the ultimate price, in the end. But really, much as you want to scream at him while he's making his horrible mistake, I think anyone who has ever known an adolescent boy can understand the reckless things they are capable of. It doesn't make them monsters. In this case, the boy is far from evil, which makes the consequences of his actions that much more unbearable to watch.