Babel

During my stay in Izmir, one of the easy and fun outings for me is the cinema. Very close to my hotel, the movies are in English (no doublage) and all the latest movies are showing.

This time i saw 3 movies: The Guardian - Kevin Costner, Casino Royal - the new blond James Bond: Daniel Craig , and finally Babel.

First we thought it's a Brad Pitt's movie, but it turned out he was just one of many actors who starred in this movie. Babel is what u can really call: international movie.

It's been fun watching this movie, not that it is a "fun" movie, on the contrary it is a gloomy & depressing movie. But the idea is new, the locations are so variant, and the different stories from all around the world, come together so neatly and impressively.

For those who didn't watch it, i will not ruin it for u, for it is a movie to see, not to hear its story.
What was most touching about Babel, is how deep it went into human nature. The characters were not well dressed, no make up, no glamour, just plain faces, real expressions, and real-life situations. The dialogue in the movie was so little. Many scenes had no dialogue at all. It was left to the actors expressions to tell you the story. The story goes so deep into the human race, and explores its very basic needs and fears, that near the end, u discover that people from Morroco, Japan, USA and Spain are all the same in the end; they are human. The human nature doesn't change whether it lives a rough or luxurious living, a life full of technology or a very crude life where they look at any machine as someting from outer space. Man or woman, child or adult, the needs are the same: to love & be loved, to feel secure, to have peace ...

The word "Babel" doesn't come in vain. It reminds us of the Tower of Babel bible story, in Genesis chapter 11, (english) when all people agreed on building a very high tower in the old city of Babel, just after the flood was over in Noah's age. And because God promised them that He will never bring a flood again, he was disappointed by the people's reaction and building that tower, not trusting his promise. So to stop their plans to build the tower, he babled their tongues: every group of people spoke a different language. They couldn't communicate, the cooperation was so difficult to build the tower. They began having misunderstandings, they began to fight together, and they started to suspect one another.

That's how people began being different, but only in tongue, and communication habits. Yet they stayed the same, same human nature.

The movie shows how this babling still affects our lives harshly. Though being the same, though being the same human that we are, we cannot reach out to any one unless we have a common tongue. Not just by language, but language is just one way of communication, but also in the ways we affect & get affected by each other. We do not touch others in the way they'd like to be touched. We might be loving our loved ones in a way the cannot understand or need. Babling can ruin any communication and cause problems. And still they funny fact is: we are the same.

The movie goes on to show in its gloomy mood, how this babling is making us drift apart form each other, a husband abandons his wife afetr their son's death because they couldn't mourn him in a common language. A spanish woman gets accused of kidnapping the 2 kids she adores and escaping with them, because she wasn't understood, and her simple wishes were not undestood.
A mute girl brings herself to trouble because she is not understood by her own father.

Heart breaking scenes, to make us realize how we tear ourselves and others by not communicating. And to make it sharp clear, the movie takes place in 4 different countries, 5 languages, and so many characters. All characters interact, with no intention to cause pain to others, and still they do.

Finally you go out of the movie theatre, with wet eyes, depressed mind, with anger inside you against all the mischievments inside the movie, but please do not miss the important message here: hang on to your loved ones, speak to them , reach out to them and communicate with them in the language they can understand and respond to. Don't make pre-judgements. Don't neglect others when you don't understand them. They have important things to say. Hear them. You can even prevent problems from happening if you give them some attention.

Babel is a must see movie. Pull all your senses together and go watch it, don't forget to grab a packet of handkerchief with you ;)