Tongue Twisters

Like the picture?! Well,I found it funny..
I have been dying to watch Babel since the trailers came on at the cinema. I know,I know, it is not a merely cinematographic interest--for all my intellectual gibberish, I am still a girl and casting both Brad Pitt and Gael García Bernal in one big Hollywood movie is a major 'turn on' factor and a huge incentive to go and watch anything!But a joke apart, I was quite impressed with Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest production. Based on the tale about the confusion of human languages in Genesis 11,Babel is a strategically clever depiction of life in a global village.Similar to "Crash"in style, Babel ingenously, yet ostentatiously, peeks suggestively into the disperse lives of diverse people across the world united together by, not only a common story line, but by a common humanity. The movie offered a rather obvious springboard for a number of considerations. First of all, linguistic and cultural differences are nullified in sexuality - sex is a universally understood language.

Secondly, it is always quite frantic to be reminded of how lack of understanding often leads to prejudist misunderstandings and misinterpretations of circumstances. There are a few episodes in the movie where violence is automatically associated with "terrorism"- without any consideration for what could have been mere shenanigans..I was also intrigued by observing the human fascination/fear of the unknown...unexplainable mystery,so undeniably true! Moreover, the issue of "weapon possession" and "kids with guns",heavily explored in "Blood Diamond" and "The Last King of Scotland",was only briefly confronted in this movie, yet increased my frustration over the whole issue. Last but not least,I became so angry about the whole why is that that if a flippin' American tourist gets injured the whole world gets on its knees and if the same happens in a small African village no-body gives a damn?! Please, don't misunderstand me. I don't think that what happens for the American is wrong,I just wish it was the same for the wee African lad;that's all. In "Shooting Dogs" , the actress who plays the Europen reporter makes a statement about the Western indifference to murder of Africans in contrast with their greater emphaty with other white-conflicts (ei.the Balcans) due,in her opinion,to a lack of physical identification. I was watching the news last night about the South African turmoil at the moment with all these crime happening and the black community being sufferingly silent about it.It saddens me. I love Africa. God knows I do, and it frustrates me to shallowly witness the injustice and pain that goes on there whilst the rich and wealthy just look - if I could put it in picture, I would choose Goya's "Saturn Eating His Children" where a ferocious,heartless monster voraciously divores his own offspring... On a more superficial note,movie was pretty good 7.5/10 in my book and,Gael,I love you!!!(Not sure Natalie Portland would appreciate me saying that!)