A Moroccan father buys a rifle that wounds an American women, whose two children get lost while crossing the US border together with their Mexican nanny. Where did the rifle came from? A Japanese hunter gave it as a gift to his guide, the man who sold the weapon to the father. But is it the twisted paths of fate that are in the center of Iñárritu’s third feature length film, “Babel?. As in “Amores Perros” or “21 grams” that both follow the connections between their characters back to a single violent incident?

I think the answer is no. In “Babel”, those connections already exist, the world that we live in has tied us already together. But being part of the same story isn’t enough, we have to make a concious effort to bridge the inevitable gap between “me” and “them”. However, just like the biblical tower builders, Iñárritu’s characters are confronted with a world that seldom speaks their language. But is it literally language that divides us? Doesn’t the deaf-mute Japanese girl very well understand her mother tongue? Can’t she get across because everyone else doesn’t understand sign language? Or is their something deeper that separates her from anyone around? What about the American couple that hasn’t been able to reach each other ever since their third child was born still. Why do the words elude him when she ask a simple question? And how can the Mexican nanny, who turns out to be an illegal emigrant, possibly explain to a border patrol, what those two little American children mean to her?

So there are a lot of small incidents in “Babel”, where different spheres of communication collide with each other. The situations that arise from those impacts pose communication challenges for the individuals in “Babel”. Some of them get resolved. Others don’t. And we are left with the feeling that are smaller world doesn’t necessarily mean that we are closer to each other. This film is a must. Period.

Otherwise, things have been quite lately. What remarkable things did happen last week? I totally went overboard while shopping German chocolate at the “World Store”. I had a pre-thanksgiving turkey. My car is maaking more and more strange noises. I finished my medicals and sent my South Pole paper work to the authorities.

Hmmm, I guess that’s about it. Next week promises to be interesting, since there are elections her on Tuesday! Expect some long rambling about the outcome of that! Oh, and the ID piece is still in the making, but it will eventually be done…. 😉