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**1/2 STARS

“Babel” is getting quite a lot of critical acclaim right now. Of course Brad Pitt is getting most of the attention from the Hollywood press, but it is Rinko Kikuchi as the mute Japanese girl and Adrianna Barraza as the nanny that steal the show. “Babel” is more of an exercise in great acting than storytelling. The best storyline in the movie is the one with the nanny and the kids getting lost in the desert, it was so emotionally charged and intense it stuck with me even after the film was over. That sub-plot could have been a movie on it’s own and would have had more relevancy on culture today than the other two that are woven into this movie.

After the credits began to roll, I realized how slow and long of a movie it actually was. I enjoyed the depth of the roles and the brave acting, but in the end wasn’t won over by the artistic filming or heavy handed plot. I appreciated the underlined message and feel of this film but soon realized it’s agenda and wasn’t impressed by all the critical attention it has received so far.

The story starts out really good as we meet two small boys in a small Moroccan village who have just been given a rifle to help defend their herd of goats. One careless day the boys shoot innocently at a tourist bus driving by their land. Without thinking the boys aim at the target and soon find out that one of the bullets has hit someone on the bus, and just anyone but a white American tourist. That is where I felt the heavy handed feeling comes in during this film. The rest of the movie follows the ripple effect of these boys actions. We see the intense struggle that Brad Pitt’s character goes through to find help for his injured wife. We see how American influence can help and hinder a person from getting medical help in time.

There is also a small sub-plot concerning a deaf girl in Japan that is trying to find herself as a blossoming young woman. Though this story is interesting and acted very well, I didn’t see why is was relevant to the rest of the movie. This cross section of plots is the one problem I have with this movie. I was a bit confused at times, and then realized that I wasn’t emotionally invested in the minor plots. But that doesn’t make this a bad movie, just a movie I couldn’t connect with. I recommend this movie for Award season viewing or as a DVD rental and that is pretty much it.