Babel DVD Review

A DVD with only a theatrical trailer and previews as special features on the initial release of Babel, it was clear that there would be a special edition of some sort, but who would have imagined that it would come so fast. This has become a trend recently, along with the extended cut and director’s cut which is usually released after the first release (except in the case of the Grindhouse films, but that is another story entirely, and one I am certain has some financial benefits as well). The timing of the Babel Collector’s Edition may be slightly off. They must either hop that a majority of consumers didn’t purchase the single disc, or that the popularity of the film is still great enough to convince them to buy a second package so soon after the first release. Either way it seems a risky move, although a necessary one considering the lack of special features on the single disc.

I was nearly too worried about how depressing Babel would be to the point where I almost didn’t want to see the film. Although I loved Amores Perros, I found 21 Grams to be unbearably bleak, and wasn’t looking forward to a hopeless film. I was pleasantly surprised to find that director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu doesn’t keep hitting the same note with his final film in the trilogy of suffering. The final film is certainly the towering achievement, containing some incredible sequences and amazing acting.

Although the entire film takes place in four different countries, it is a tragic accident in Morocco that sets off all of the events in each of these countries. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are a couple on vacation in Morocco, struggling to get their life back on track when an accidental shooting puts their vacation and all of their plans in turmoil. At the same time in the United States their nanny has nobody to watch their kids while she goes to a wedding in Mexico, so she brings them with her, driven by her sketchy relative (Gael Garcia Bernal). In what seems to be a completely unrelated storyline until further into the story, a deaf girl in Japan struggles to deal with her mother’s suicide paired with an odd obsession with her own sexuality.

We are told that this international incident is all over the news with the world aware of the situation and yet we remain close to those directly involved, and they are often nowhere near a television with the news. Despite the fact that Babel takes place across several continents, there is an extreme intimacy in the stories, so as to keep us in direct contact with each individual’s suffering which is shown to be something extremely universal. This might just sound like 21 Grams and Amores Perros on a larger international scale, but this is certainly the strongest in Iñárritu’s trilogy of pain, mostly because he allows a great deal of hope to run through the film. An act of kindness from a stranger unwilling to accept money for his help in Morocco shows a small ounce of humanity which clears away so much hurt for a moment.

Although the set-up is different including the menus, there are no new features on the disc which contains the film. No commentary track has been added, which is somewhat of a disappointment, but the second disc has an impressive documentary that is successful in distracting from what is missing on the Collector’s Edition. While the commentary track is fantastic in showing the thoughts of the director after-the-fact, Peter Jackson has most recently shown the advantages of showing audiences the experience first hand. “Common Ground” is a fantastic behind-the-scenes production diary from director Iñárritu showing nearly every step along the way. Beginning with the director explaining the biblical significance of the title and into all of the usual difficulties fighting shooting conditions and studios, “Common Ground” is far better than a commentary track in every way imaginable.