Babel
2006 · Movie · R · 143 min · ★ 7.2 · 69% critics
A vacation in the Moroccan desert turns into a crisis that ripples outward, linking several families across different countries. As the fallout spreads, misunderstandings, cultural barriers, and hard choices push ordinary people into tense situations where small actions carry huge consequences.
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Details
- Years
- 2006
- Release date
- 2006-10-26
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 143 min
- Critic score
- 69/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.2/10 (4,076 votes)
- Budget
- $25,000,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you like dark, interconnected dramas about how one event can affect strangers across the world, similar to Crash or 21 Grams; Not for you if you want a fast pace or clear, tidy connections.
Pros: interlocking global stories; tense, absorbing moments; thought-provoking themes | Cons: slow, overlong runtime; connections feel tenuous; characters can feel distant
Themes
- daughter
- first time
- loss of loved one
- gun
- deaf-mute
- san diego, california
- ecstasy
- nanny
- illegal immigration
- morocco
- drug use
- tokyo, japan
- +5 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 2007
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Cannes
- Academy Award — Best Film Editing · 2007 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Director · 2007 · nominated
Show all 9 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actress · 2007 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Writing, Original Screenplay · 2007 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 2007 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 2007 · nominated
Cast & crew
Brad Pitt
as Richard Jones
Rinko Kikuchi
as Chieko
Adriana Barraza
as Amelia
Cate Blanchett
as Susan Jones
Satoshi Nikaido
as Kenji Mamiya
Said Tarchani
as Ahmed
Boubker Ait El Caid
as Yussef
Gael García Bernal
as Santiago
Nathan Gamble
as Mike Jones
Elle Fanning
as Debbie Jones
Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu