Watched this movie, Babel, last night.  I thought it was very well-done and engaging.  It reminded me of movies like Traffic and Crash on an international level (where seemingly unrelated characters and plotlines eventually converge, i.e. wreck, with often tragic consequences.)

I just had a few (probably obvious) observations while watching:

• At first, because of the title of the movie, I thought the ultimate conflict in the movie would hinge upon the language barrier.  This was not really the case.  Most of the problems were issues related to cultural misunderstanding and mistakes in individual judgment, and although some of the conflict/tragedy was related to (or compounded by) communication, language didn’t play a huge factor.  That was a surprise.

• I thought it was intriguing that the characters from the wealthier, developed nations (U.S. & Japan) faired much better in their mistakes and misfortune than those in the economically poorer, developing nations (Morocco & Mexico).  Was this an intended message of the movie?  The Japanese man gives his rifle away as a gift and this series of events is set into motion.  It seems he didn’t even lose his emotionally troubled daughter (which I thought was a foregone conclusion.)  The American family had quite a scare, but remained intact; while their Mexican house-helper "loses everything"  –mainly for trusting and loving her own family.  There’s some serious social justice issues here that could be explored.  More often than not, life is not too forgiving towards those who are marginalized.
• While watching the movie unfold, Christa and I were also very surprised at the American couple’s decision to "stay put" and wait to be rescued after the wife got shot.  I think this says more about our experience living overseas than it does about the movie being flawed.  I think the character’s decisions seemed authentic enough for tourists in a very stressful, frightening situation.  We’ve just spent a lot of time in places where hospital care is either non-existent or lacking.  When you are in those situations, you do what you have to do to GET OUT and get help.  If it’s ride (or drive) four hours to get to a hospital, then that’s what you do.  These people, at least, had the benefit of an English speaker in their midst.  Having the ability to communicate makes a huge difference in problem-solving and in life-or-death situations.  This would have been a very different movie if the language barrier had been greater (or if it had been set in different developing countries.)
• I thought when Brad Pitt tried to offer money to the Moroccan man who had helped him that this was such a telling and insightful scene.  It is such a typical, knee-jerk, American response.  Break out the check book!  When we are helped, we want to reciprocate, don’t we?  We want some way to express our gratitude.  So what is the first thing we think of?  The thing that we have in abundance that others don’t.  The thing that "makes the world go round".  The thing that can fix a lot of problems (or cause them).  Money.  I’m not trying to be overly-critical or say that this is ONLY something Americans would think to do.  I don’t think it is.  I am just trying to point out that when you think about it you can’t put a dollar value on saving someone’s life or offering them refuge and hospitality.  It’s ridiculous.  But we feel helpless in those situations.  I was a little bit embarrassed for Brad’s character when he did this.  Maybe I am starting to understand how other cultures operate a little bit better.
• Another thing that nagged at me at the end of the movie was this question:  Are we, especially as believers, responsible for the global conditions that often produce these kinds of tragic byproducts and results?  Obviously, I’m thinking beyond the scope of events in the movie.  There were a lot of individual decisions made as I mentioned before.  But there are also systems (principalities and powers) that exist in our world that we either are aiding and abetting OR actively fighting against.  Can we live in extreme comfort in the west when our global neighbors barely have what they need to survive?  There must be more we can do…  (I know my own hypocrisy in this area, but I am being challenged to live beyond it, too.  Definitely being challenged this year with a broader view…)