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Babel (2006)

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Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 194
Fresh: 134 | Rotten: 60

In Babel, there are no villains, only victims of fate and circumstance. Director Alejandro Gonzalez I�arritu weaves four of their woeful stories into this mature and multidimensional film.

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 43
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 15

In Babel, there are no villains, only victims of fate and circumstance. Director Alejandro Gonzalez I�arritu weaves four of their woeful stories into this mature and multidimensional film.

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Movie Info

The tragic aftermath of human carelessness travels around the world in this multi-narrative drama from filmmaker Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu. Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are a couple from the United States who have traveled to Morocco in Northern Africa on a vacation after the death of one of their children has sent Susan into a deep depression. Richard and Susan's other two children have been left in the care of Amelia (Adriana Barraza), their housekeeper. Amelia is

R, 2 hr. 22 min.

Drama

Directed By: Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu

Written By: Guillermo Arriaga Jordan

In Theaters: Oct 27, 2006 Wide

On DVD: Feb 20, 2007

Box Office:$34.2M

Paramount Classics

It's a great film made with style and heart and hope, a cautionary parable and an almost certain Oscar contender.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel

| Comment

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

Top Critic

[I��rritu] 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.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle

| Comment

Amy Biancolli

Houston Chronicle

Top Critic

True to its title, Babel hinges on missed and faulty communications of both the personal and the cultural variety. It's a sweeping movie about characters who often suffer from tunnel vision.

November 10, 2006 Comment

Robert Denerstein

Denver Rocky Mountain News

Top Critic

Babel is the masterful third installment in this trilogy of truth and consequence.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Denver Post

| Comments (3)

Michael Booth

Denver Post

Top Critic

As each story comes to its conclusion, some characters rise above, while others are crushed under the weight of the day's events. The tales are equal parts miracle and tragedy. And that's often what life is, which makes Babel ring true.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic

| Comment

Bill Muller

Arizona Republic

Top Critic

One of the most challenging and saddest movies of the year -- and also one of the most memorable.

November 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Richard Roeper

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Babel is a beautifully depressing film about responsibility, redemption, and ultimately that there are consequences to people's actions, regardless of who they are and where they live.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews

| Comment (1)

Matthew Pejkovic

Matt's Movie Reviews

The gimmick-machinery whirrs, but the human beings in it can't breath

August 28, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga have fashioned their ideas with conviction and obvious care.

June 30, 2009 Full Review Source: JWR

| Comment

S. James Wegg

JWR

I can understand why Babel is up for so many Oscars (R)--it is elegantly written and shot, and harrowing to watch. The suffering each character experiences is palpable, gritty, and realistic.

August 22, 2008 Full Review Source: ReelzChannel.com

| Comment

Heather Huntington

ReelzChannel.com Source: ReelzChannel.com

Mature themes mark stories about communication.

July 14, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Cynthia Fuchs

Common Sense Media

Babel...belongs to an unfortunately proliferating genre that might be called the higher kitsch.

June 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

| Comments (3)

Thomas Peyser

Style Weekly (Richmond, VA) Source: Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

...language acts more as a means to distance and isolate us than aid in our understanding of one another.

February 28, 2008 Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com

| Comment

Brandon Fibbs

BrandonFibbs.com

A lumbering, stitched-together mess.

July 23, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comments (5)

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

Babel directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is one of the most compelling films to date.

July 22, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Magazine International

| Comment

Moira Sullivan

Movie Magazine International

an affecting examination of disconnected lives in an interconnected world.

July 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film

| Comment

Anton Bitel

Eye for Film

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Audience Reviews for Babel

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Well I started to watch this and at once thought...'oh no what have I done!?, this looks lame', 'I spent how much on this apparent dubbed movie' *weep*It then progressed with the individual stories, each one being a little more intriguing by the minute, until all of a sudden your hooked and really thinking, what's

April 5, 2009

Phil Hubbard

Super Reviewer

"Babel". Fitting title.The narrative has many different story arcs involving many different characters in many different settings and eventually, these story arcs intersect one another to make a cohesive plotline, ala "Crash" except "Babel" is much more mature, stylized, and less preachy. Easily, the most interesting

March 18, 2012

Albert Kim

Super Reviewer

Babel Quotes

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1. Richard: What about you? How many wives do you have?
2. Anwar: I can only afford one.
– Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)
1. Yussef: I killed the American, I was the only one who shot at you. They did nothing... nothing. Kill me, but save my brother, he did nothing... nothing. Save my brother... he did nothing.
– Submitted by Chris P (13 months ago)

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