This blog post examines why the film “Babel” makes communication breakdown its central conflict. It deeply explores how events unfolding within different cultures and languages connect as a single ripple effect.
Introduction
Humans originally lived in one region speaking one language. However, when they attempted to challenge divine authority by building the Tower of Babel, an enraged God punished them by making them speak different languages. Subsequently, humans, now facing difficulties in communication and distrust, scattered and lived apart while building the tower. What if humans had continued using only one language? Many of the conflicts and disputes occurring today might not have arisen.
The film “Babel” reveals this tragic reality through the breakdown of communication and the resulting chaos. Though steeped in philosophical reflection, the film itself flows neither obscurely nor tediously. Rather than being labeled philosophical, the events in the film feel vividly real precisely because they mirror reality too closely.
This blog post begins with an introduction to the film, followed by an explanation of the genres thriller and drama, their characteristics, the audiovisual devices composing the film, a consideration of the director’s approach, and concludes with my personal impressions and a film review.
Babel Plot
The plot of “Babel” adopts a non-linear structure, with three separate events initially scattered before converging into one. These events, spatially distant and seemingly unrelated, gradually unify around a central axis.
In the barren fields of Morocco, two children playing with a rifle fire it at a passing bus. As the bus screeches to a halt, the scene abruptly shifts to the other side of the globe, to Japan. The stories of Chiaki, a girl wounded by her inability to connect with the world; Amelia, a Mexican woman striving for a better life while spending her youth in America; and an American couple injured by gunfire during their trip to Morocco are each presented in parallel, seemingly independent. At first glance, the three events seem unrelated, but the central thread is the shooting incident in Morocco. Like ripples spreading across calm water, a single, accidentally fired bullet causes the circumstances surrounding each character to influence and expand upon one another.
The Drama Genre, and Thriller
In Korea, pure drama genre films rarely achieve commercial success, and contemporary cinema strongly tends toward derivative or hybrid genres rather than maintaining pure forms. Nevertheless, the drama genre holds significance as the foundational genre from which theater, film, and novels originate. Most films possess a narrative structure formed on the basis of the drama genre. Horror films have plots, and comedy films have conclusions. In other words, the drama genre unfolds with a beginning and an ending centered around the common element of narrative, while other genres are constructed by overlaying their unique characteristics upon this foundation.
“Babel” is a film that unfolds with drama as its central axis, and the structure of its three intertwined stories further accentuates the characteristics of the drama genre. There are no scenes meant to provoke laughter, no flashy action sequences, no gloomy conspiracies. However, the sorrow and unease stemming from the characters’ actions and the events themselves clearly convey dramatic emotion while simultaneously generating thriller-like tension. While thrillers and horror are often mistakenly considered the same genre or thought to be awkward when combined with other genres, horror is a genre that makes the audience directly experience the presence of fear, whereas a thriller shows the emotions and actions of the characters caused by that presence.
Fear, or the nature of terror, is diverse. The fear depicted in this film stems not from an unknown entity, but from the inherent imperfections of humanity itself. Different linguistic systems form distinct cultures, habits, and ways of life. Even within the same linguistic sphere, differences in communication methods breed conflict and alienation. Chieko, the deaf Japanese girl, is a character who epitomizes these wounds of communication.
Another system of communication: music
Music plays a significant role in the film, with “Babel” delicately using music to convey the distinct atmosphere of each location where events unfold. While film scores are typically chosen to maintain a consistent tone aligned with the overall plot, this work reflects both locality and emotion simultaneously—through traditional Moroccan instruments, techno music in the Japanese scenes, and lively Mexican band music.
The piano ending theme by Ryuichi Sakamoto and the sorrowful guitar notes by Gustavo Santaolalla that resonate in the final scene transform fear into sadness and sadness into hope, purifying the emotional turmoil that has persisted throughout the film. Moroccan traditional music singing of barren deserts and weary lives, the techno sounds of Japanese youth who seem to have achieved material wealth yet lost their values, and the songs of Mexicans forced to leave their homeland and families—each etches the weight of their respective lives onto both the surface and the depths.
Particularly in the scene reflecting Amelia’s regret, the upbeat party music overlays the pain of her youth spent in America without enjoyment and the scene of her affair with a middle-aged man, intensifying the emotional depth. The music repeatedly builds and releases tension in each scene, amplifying and then releasing the emotions.
Director
“Babel” overcame linguistic barriers stemming from its long shoot and diverse locations to become a completed work. It received acclaim for the actors’ performances and its unique structure rather than flashy visual effects, and is regarded as the film where director Iñárritu’s style is most clearly evident. His previous works, “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams,” are representative films that sharply capture social issues, showcasing his consistent structural approach of dissecting the circumstances surrounding an event, scattering them, and then reassembling them.
Filming each region separately on location and then intercut the scenes during editing serves not to confuse the audience but to heighten immersion and maintain tension. Despite its runtime exceeding two and a half hours, the film sustains continuous tension without relying on flashy action or extreme horror, a testament to the director’s exceptional skill.
Director Iñárritu is Mexican-born and currently active in the United States. His experiences as a Mexican living in the U.S.—encountering conflicts, prejudice, and communication barriers within an immigrant and multiracial society—likely formed a crucial backdrop for Babel’s themes. The director interprets these experiences not as anger, but as sadness stemming from a lack of communication.
The structure where events in the film amplify and become more complex around the U.S. reveals the anxiety and tension within American society following the 9/11 attacks. The director depicts surrounding nations and characters as prepared perpetrators and victims, exploring human emotions within political tension.
In the later Japanese scenes, against a dark night sky and the city’s dazzling nightscape, Chieko’s yearning for communication and her father’s embracing her reveal the director’s intent to suggest the possibility of human reconciliation beyond political boundaries.
“Babel” as Drama
As previously explained, it’s difficult for a film to succeed solely on the strength of its drama genre. However, since most films possess a narrative, dramatic elements form the foundation of cinema. This is especially true considering that film reflects the human condition. While the drama genre’s focus on conflict structures arising from small, everyday stories can sometimes feel mundane, it simultaneously possesses the power to capture the essence of human life.
The accidental shooting in “Babel” stirs the heightened American sentiment following the terrorist attacks. The focus on tracking down the perpetrator before transporting the wounded American citizen, Susan, to the hospital, and the way events in Japan become entangled while tracing the gun’s origin, symbolize American anxiety and overreaction.
The fear in unfamiliar territory and the husband Richard’s rage appear to embody representative American emotions. They reveal the inner state of America, perpetually tense within the logic of power as a hegemonic nation. Yet, the local guide’s assistance, the doctor’s emergency treatment, and the grandmother’s marijuana symbolically show beings seeking to wrap and embrace the wounded America.
The deaf-mute girl Chieko clearly reveals her wounds and desire for healing through her conflict with her father after her mother’s suicide, her longing to fit in with “normal” people, her wandering around without underwear, and the scene where she kisses the dentist during treatment.
Amelia, a Mexican woman, lives with the desperate need to settle in America for her children’s stable future. Though she cared for Richard and his wife’s children for years in the US, she loses everything due to her nephew’s sudden outburst. Even while being deported from America, her refusal to abandon her responsibility toward the children reveals profound endurance and maternal love.
In Morocco, the older brother is shot and killed during a police chase pursuing the brothers. The younger brother destroys the gun and turns himself in to the police, while their father weeps, holding his brother’s body. They too are central figures in the events.
The film’s core is formed within a multi-layered structure extending not only to the American couple, but also to the Moroccan brothers, Chieko in Japan, and Amelia in Mexico. American identity is reinterpreted through a flow of internal distrust and conflict, the outbreak of the incident, and the restoration of familial love. This is dramatically revealed in the scene where Richard, caring for his wife and calling his children, realizes the preciousness of family through tears.
Chieko wants to date and play like an ordinary girl, but she becomes increasingly isolated due to the trauma of her mother’s suicide and the deterioration of her relationship with her father. Her despair upon witnessing the boy she likes kissing her friend, and her fear upon learning the police are searching for her father, reveal her desperate desire not to lose him. Ultimately, the conflict is resolved through reconciliation with her father.
The nightclub scene, in particular, forms the dramatic climax of the film. Amidst the dazzling lights and music, Chieko can only sense the atmosphere through visual cues; unable to hear the music, she cannot follow the rhythm of others. The music alternates between silence and actual sound according to her perspective, reaching its climax in a silent screen when she loses the man she loves.
Amelia is arrested because of her niece, but when asked what the children she was caring for had done wrong, she replies, “It wasn’t wrong, it was just stupid.” This symbolizes how Amelia herself, though not guilty of any crime, lost everything due to foolish choices.
The American couple’s familial love, Chieko’s reunion with her father, the Moroccan family’s pain over losing their brother and the younger brother’s surrender, and Amelia receiving her son’s comfort while being deported from the US—all these scenes quietly yet profoundly showcase the dramatic core of familial love.
Babel as a Thriller
Babel compensates for its dramatic flatness with thriller devices. From the outset, the audience questions why the Moroccan shooting scene isn’t followed up, why the narrative suddenly shifts to Japan, the US, and Mexico.
The aforementioned elements of sorrow and fear are closer to the emotions the audience faces after the film ends than to the plot developments within the story. This is because the drama genre often conveys emotional resonance at the conclusion. However, the unresolved emotions left by the unresolved events within the film, and the inescapable anxiety mirroring reality, embody the essential characteristics of a thriller.
The psychological shifts of all characters, including Richard’s emotional arc, unfold amidst the anxiety and crisis born from a lack of communication. In other words, the realistic problem of communication breakdown combines with the dramatic element of familial love, transforming the characters’ unstable psyches into thriller-like tension. The music and visual composition also meticulously support this genre-specific texture.
Comparison with Other Films
Many films share a similar structure to “Babel.” Among them, “Crash” bears a particularly close resemblance in content. While ‘Babel’ broadly explores the disconnect and conflict stemming from humanity’s imperfect communication, “Crash” more directly addresses racial tensions in America.
“Crash” also features a structure where events become entangled, amplifying misunderstandings and distrust. While “The Butterfly Effect” focused on how a small event leads to massive change, “Babel” similarly shows how a single accidental gunshot triggers a chain of events spreading across the globe.
Review of the Film ‘Babel’
“Babel” is a work deeply imbued with the director’s creative intent. The process of filming across multiple countries—Morocco, Mexico, the United States, Japan, and others outside Europe—over two years, the need for interpreters to interpret for interpreters to convey sufficient explanations to actors speaking different languages, and the director’s unwavering confidence in steering this effort permeate the entire film. The four distinct films tailored to the four stories visibly reveal the director’s passion.
Despite the weight and depth of the subject matter, which could easily have made the content obscure or tedious, the director conveyed it solely through the actors’ realistic emotional expressions and actions. The ending leaves a profound resonance, and the scenes and their meaning linger in the mind long after the film ends. I would like to evaluate this as a work that brilliantly utilizes the strengths of the drama genre.
The Future of the Drama Genre
Films like “Babel” represent a standard for the modern drama genre. When the central event and characters are singular, drama can actually reduce immersion and risk simplifying the conflict structure into a flat progression. Therefore, genre blending is not a choice but a demand of the times; depending on its composition, it can become a masterpiece or a failure.
While not pure art cinema, the drama genre possesses a characteristic focus on depicting genuine human emotions and phenomena. Hollywood’s renewed attention to the drama genre also aligns with the current era’s lack of social communication and growing emotional instability. As civilization advances, conflicts deepen, and the need for authentic emotional expression and human understanding grows accordingly.
Even when a drama genre work is recognized for both artistic merit and box office success, the reality remains that achieving commercial success domestically and internationally is still challenging. This is because audiences have become accustomed to stimulating and spectacular visuals. This isn’t to say Hollywood films are bad, but consuming only one genre inevitably narrows the scope of appreciation. Sometimes, seeking out works in the drama genre that one doesn’t usually prefer is also highly meaningful.
Experiences watching films with strong dramatic tendencies, like “V for Vendetta” or “Blood Diamond,” are valuable in this regard. Furthermore, realizing through genre studies lectures that many films I’ve seen actually possess dramatic elements has been a significant gain.
