Babel is Top Notch

Babel is all about the ripple affect, having one situation affect the next in a tragic cycle that comes round circle. Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are Americans vacationing in Morocco, looking for a break from reality after one of their children tragically dies from crib death. A Moroccan local, buys a rifle in order to protect his livestock from the jackals. Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), a deaf-mute girl in Tokyo, is having a tough time coping with her mother's death, and Richard and Susan's housekeeper Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is facing a dilemma on how she can attend her son's wedding while also managing to take care of their children.
Back in Morocco, the goat-herder makes a poor decision in giving the new rifle to his two sons, and what starts out as innocent fun, ends in tragedy after one of the boys shoots at a bus full of tourists, seriously injuring one of the passengers. The unlucky passenger turns out to be Susan, who is now fighting to survive, while Richard does his best to find the quickest path to a hospital. However, the best he can do is a village that is over an hour away.
In San Diego, Amelia desperately tries to find a replacement caretaker for the children but comes up short and decides that she will bring the children with her to Mexico for the day.
Chieko, dealing with her anger and emotional withdrawal is searching in all the wrong places for someone to reach out to. She constantly exposes herself by wearing no underwear under her short skirt and spreading her legs in order to attract some male attention. We realize that she will go to any length for an emotional connection, even as far as trying to seduce a policeman who is investigating her father.
With a complex, but fast-paced plot, the pieces begin to fall into place as the film progresses. We discover that the rifle that shot Susan was originally owned by Chieko's father, the local authorities in Morocco will use brutal tactics in order to find the culprit who shot Susan, and America instantly thinks the shooting is a terrorist attack which causes political problems, delaying any medical attention from reaching Susan.
On the car ride back from Mexico, Amelia's nephew gives the border patrol a hard time, and when it is discovered that he may be intoxicated he speeds off driving dangerously fast and risking all of their lives. He decides that Amelia and the children should get out of the car, in the middle of nowhere, and after he loses the police, he will come back for them. Amelia is immediately skeptical of being left in the middle of the desert with only a flashlight, but she gives in and gets out of the car with the two children. Waking up the next morning covered in dirt, Amelia realizes that her nephew did not return for them, and that they are now in a life-and-death situation.
All of the main characters are fighting for their lives (with the exception of Chieko, who is fighting for her sanity) including the goat-herder and his two sons who are fleeing the police, but end up in a shoot out.
The film is in multiple languages, but this does not hinder the message of the film. One bad decision can start a chain reaction, and cultural misunderstandings lead to more problems. The film also touches upon sensitive political issues such as border jumpers and a dysfunctional U.S. Embassy.
Babel has a flawless cast, Pitt, Blanchett and Kikuchi are all brilliant in their roles, creating that emotional connection between the characters and the audience. Even though Blanchett is lying on the floor dying for the majority of the film, she does an excellent job at it, and the chemistry between her and Pitt is wonderful. Barraza is also a strong addition to the cast, and her character is stuck in the middle of all the tragedies, as well as in the middle of desert with two kids to care for. Her situation is heart breaking and there is no right decision for her to make, and out of the entire cast of Babel, I feel that she is most worthy of an Oscar.
Although, Barraza has some tough competition and is up against two of her fellow cast members, Kikuchi for Babel and Blanchett for Notes on a Scandal.
Babel has also picked up seven nominations overall including Best Editing, Best Director and is the top pick for Best Picture at the 2007 Academy Awards.

Grade: A