Babel

Hey,

I just saw Babel on the DVD tonight. Thankfully I didn't get to see it in the cinema for it would have been heavily censored this missing out on key points in the movie. The title of the movie Babel refers to the incident mentioned in the Bible, where arrogant people were attempting to build a massive tower to reach up to God, and God suddenly caused everyone to speak in different languages, thereby confusing everyone; Babel being the byword for miscommunication.

We follow several different stories.

A Moroccan buys a rifle gun and teaches his two sons how to use it to kill the jackals to avoid their goats being killed. While practising their aim, one of the boys accidentally shoots the tour bus.

An American couple with soured relationship are forced to spend time in a local Moroccan village where the wife is bleeding seriously. With no one to speak English fluently, the husband finds it a chore to get an ambulance to help save his wife.

While, over in Japan, a deaf-mute girl tries to lose her viriginity from as she learns to deal with the loss of her mother.

In the States, a Mexican nanny is forced to babysit the two kids, as her employer is unable to give her time off. The nanny wants to make it to Mexico for her son's wedding, and decides to take the two white kids into Mexico.

As we follow the stories of these people, we realize that the movie is taking us to a point where it will all inter-connect somehow. While the movie may be slow for some, I think it's one amazing movie to watch, especially as we can relate to some situations where our lack of cultural understanding and lack of knowldge of a foreign country can put us into unenviable situations. The acting is top notch and everyone seems very natural in their element. However, its the cinematography and the music that's the most wonderful thing about this movie.

Bable was nominated for Best Movie at th Oscars, and won several awards around the world at various film festivals. Make sure to check it out and just be aware of the heavy mature content.

Mansur

New Movies....

Hey friends,

I saw several movies that are worth watching. Don't have time to write out full reviews but should you get the time, make sure you can check them out.

The Queen
Truly a captivating and engrossing movie into the life of the Queen as the death of Princess Diana makes world headlines. Why the Queen behaved the way she did forms the crux of the movie. Certainly an oscar winning performance by Helen Mirren as the Queen, this movie moves at an interesting pace and gives you a glimpse into what life is like inside the Bickingham Palace.

Little Miss Sunshine
The story of a dysfunctional family of four, with a coke-addicted grandfather and a gay suicidal gay uncle, go on a road trip to make sure Olive gets a chance to participate at beauty pageant for little girls. En route, each member of the family gets to confront their issues and deal with them. Particularly moving was the son who has taken a vow of silence and ultimately discovers his fate has other options for him. Moving, funny and a hearth-warming film.

Kingdom Hospital
For those Stephen King fan who enjoy mini-series like It, Storm of the Century and The Shining, Kingdom Hospital is yet another one of Stephen King's mini-series. Taking place in a hospital that is situated above a fault line, mysterious events take place leading certain people from society to get admitted into the hospital. Little do they realize that they are being brought into the hospital deliberately as part of a bigger plan to help Mary escape from the horrific past.

Godsend
An older movie about cloning and how one doctor approach a grieving couple to give them a chance to have their son cloned. While the dad doesn't agree, he gives in to his wife's desire to have another son who looks like their previous son. The experiment goes fine, till the son approaches the same age he was killed. Something is wrong with the clone, and the parents begin to suspect the doctor had ulterior motives in cloning their son. Good movie to think about the ethical, moral and spiritual aspects of cloning.

More movie reviews to come soon.

Mansur