Went to see Babel ( www.paramountvantage.com/babel/ ). Not as good as it cracked up to be. Brad Pitt mumbled in English so much that I was glad of the German subtitles at times.
Anyway the whole film revolves about the shooting of an American tourist in Morocco. At first thought to be a terrorist act, but was actually done by a young boy practicing with a new rifle.
Now here's the problem: the boy shoots at the bus from on top of a hill as the bus is coming towards him. But later we see the female tourist shot through a bus left window in the lower left neck. There is a bullet hole in the bus window. This, her seating position and the entry point of the bullet make it absolutely impossible for the boy to be the one who shot her.
I can't believe the director missed this - or didn't the boy shoot her? Please help me...
It doesn't give the plot/end away at all - in fact the shooting is near the start of the film. It's just that it's not credible - unless I have missed something...
It must have been the same bullet that killed JFK..... Either way, it seems to be thermodynamically challenged...
The film itself left me a bit cold - it just looks like an expensive production for a poor script and a failed idea. The whole plot looks disconected and pointless.... Amores perros was absolutelly brilliant, but this one... baaah, more of the same.
The sad thing is that it seems to be the best film this season.... Maybe it is just me getting old, but i don't find cinema as exciting and touching as a few years back....
I saw the movie last Sunday - and noticed the very same thing!
It reminded me of Ben Hur and Charlton Heston wearing a wrist watch.
I quite enjoyed the movie though - two brothers fooling around and thier 'innocent' actions have a worldwide effect. ok ok I realise that playing with a rifle is not exactly a common or normal thing to do - but still.
I liked the inter-connected stories - though have to admit amores perros was much more gripping.
I have to disagree with AdFab; I thought the movie was excellent. A complex exploration of man's inability to communicate across cultural divides, and the shocking consequences of that inability. So, for me, a 'must see' movie, even if Brad did mumble a little. And, the filming and editing was excellent too.
For me, the fact that much of the movie is in various foreign languages, and that one had to rely on the German or French sub-titles added another layer of Babel to the movie. I just about managed to understand the German.
And, for my first movie in Zurich, I was pleasantly surprised at the ticket price.
By the way, is it just me, or is the sound turned down on foreign language movies shown in Zurich cinemas? I found the telephone conversations particularly difficult - should probably get my hearing checked out!