Babel

[MacGuffin]

Rodrigo Prieto, 'Babel'
Source: Variety

Awards: Phoenix, Florida, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth crix kudos for "Brokeback Mountain"; Golden Frog at Camerimage for "Amores perros"; Silver Frog for "Alexander."

Tools: Prieto used four of Kodak's 16mm film stocks in Morocco to help give each story a different look. "(EXR 100D) 7248 was our favorite -- its grain texture was visible, and to me it seemed the most like 5289 -- but, as with 5289, I discovered it had just been discontinued," he told American Cinematographer magazine. "We looked all over the place and were able to secure just enough of it for the Americans' story.

"I didn't want the Moroccan kids' story to be as grainy, so I used (EXR 50D) 7245, which has a finer grain, for those day exteriors, (Vision2 250D) 7205 for day interiors and (Vision2 500T) 7218 for a couple of night interiors and a day-for-night shot."

Visual references: "(Director) Alejandro (Gonzalez Inarritu) and Rodrigo accepted that Morocco would be void of a primary red, so it would basically be a very dark, rich red and the oranges of that country in contrast to Mexico, where we decided to use a primary red color, like the red of the flag, to represent the straightforward Mexican passion. For Tokyo, we chose to use a lot of purples, pinks and fuchsias to make it look like a diluted blood of futuristic essence," production designer Brigitte Broch explains.

Aesthetic: "We visually represented the character's individual emotional journeys through the use of different film stocks and formats," Prieto says. "By emphasizing the subtle differences between the image quality of each story -- like the texture of the film grain, the color saturation and the sharpness of the backgrounds -- we were able to enhance the experience of feeling like you are in different places geographically and emotionally," Prieto says. "We then digitally combined the different lens formats used into one negative, in the same way that all these cultures and languages come together in one film."

What's next: Reteaming with "Brokeback" director Ang Lee on "Lust, Caution," a WWII-era espionage thriller set in Shanghai.

[MacGuffin]

Exclusive: Babel's Rinko Kikuchi
Source: ComingSoon

One of the four separate segments in Alejandro González Iñárritu's global drama Babel involves a punky deaf-mute girl from Tokyo named Cheiko, who is feeling lonely and unloved after the suicide of her mother. For most moviegoers, it's the first time they were able to see 26-year-old Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi in action, but anyone who attended the New York Asian Film Festival in the past few years may have caught Ms. Kikuchi's small roles in a few of the festival's most memorable films like Katsuhito Ishii's Taste of Tea. (It will open in New York City next month!)

Critics have been raving about how Rinko is able to carry her quarter of Iñárritu's latest film, and now, she's been nominated for both a Golden Globe and a Critics' Choice award for her performance. The way things have been going, she's also likely to be dressing up to walk the red carpet come Oscar night, and after a few attempts, ComingSoon.net finally had a chance to talk with this talented young actress about the role.

ComingSoon.net: I understand you just had a birthday, so "Happy Birthday!"
Rinko Kikuchi: Oh, thank you!

CS: I've actually seen some of your Japanese movies, but how did Alejandro find you for this role?
Kikuchi: He got me through auditions, but which films did you see that I was in?

CS: I've seen "Funky Forest", "Taste of Tea" and "Survive Style 5," all small parts I guess.
Kikuchi: What did you make of ["Funky Forest"]?

CS: It was very weird, but I liked "Survive Style 5" a lot, that was good. They've played a lot of them at the New York Asian Film Festival. Had Alejandro seen any of these movies or did he find you through your agent?
Kikuchi: Actually, my friend informed me that there was auditioning going on, so I asked my agent to contact them and find out the details, that's how I got involved.

CS: What did you know about the part or the character beforehand?
Kikuchi: I received a videotape from Alejandro where it was one of the first scenes in the film where the girl and the father are talking in the car. I received a video of that scene, and I assumed I was to do that scene in the audition. Before I went in to audition, I did some research on my own, and I actually went to the deaf-mute school and tried to spend some time with those girls.

CS: And you learned sign language for the part? How long did that take?
Kikuchi: Actually, I was learning it throughout the auditions as well, so I guess it took a little less than a year maybe.

CS: What did you make of the idea of Alejandro, this Mexican director, coming to Japan and trying to shoot part of his movie there with Japanese actors in Japanese?
Kikuchi: The first thing I thought of when I heard of him coming to Japan and shoot the film was obviously this issue of language. I think for obvious reasons, it's one of the most important elements in communicating with the director, and for the film, as well. I understood the sign language more as a body language, and it was really about using your hands in gestures and expressing the emotions. In that sense, it was easy for me to digest, and Alejandro would basically check every single detail about what's being said, what kind of language the translated script was written in, and what specific language the communication was that was taking place on set. He basically laid out the whole map where he was aware of how the communication was taking place. It was a very, very interesting experience in that sense.

CS: Did he work mostly with a Japanese crew or did he have a lot of his own people there, as well?
Kikuchi: Well, Alejandro brought from his usual crew, but most of them were Japanese crew.

CS: Were you aware of the other segments in the movie while you were doing your part or did he just give you your part of the script?
Kikuchi: I had no idea what the other segments were about or what they were.

CS: After you got the part, how did you feel about having to carry this portion of the movie, since you hadn't done a role of such weight and significance? Were you nervous about that?
Kikuchi: During the one-year audition process, before I knew that I was going to get the part, there were actually moments where I already felt that the character Chieko was emerging inside me. By the time I received the news, I actually felt this whole experience was already worth experiencing and trying. When I did receive the role, I was very, very happy, but I was at the same time, like you said, very conscious and constantly thinking about how to give life into this role. I also understood that it was a big responsibility, but in some ways, the whole audition experience was so intense that I knew that I could do the role and that it would come out okay.

CS: You have a pretty intense nude scene towards the end with an older male actor. Were you nervous about having to do that and did Alejandro leave that until the very end of the shoot?
Kikuchi: Yes, I do think that whole scene was scheduled towards the later part of the production, but that scene we'd done over and over in the audition process, so Alejandro and I were very much aware that that scene was going to be a very important scene in the entire segment of the Japan section. At the same time, as far as being nude, I think being nude is like a sacred state of human nature, and I consider it very, very beautiful to be nude. I actually thought it was going to be a beautiful scene, so there was no reluctance or anything like that on my end.

CS: What did Alejandro do or say to make you, or even the older actor, more comfortable when doing that scene?
Kikuchi: To begin with, the actual crew was minimum while we were working on that scene, and Alejandro would constantly communicate just the two of us, he would just pull me aside on the set, and he basically made sure that every element was working for me. For example the actor who played the policeman, he was very nice in general as a person, so he tried everything he can to make me feel comfortable, and I think Alejandro knew that. Alejandro tried to do everything he can to make that scene work both on and off set.

CS: Do you think that your segment is representative of what kids or teen girls are like in Japan today?
Kikuchi: Well, I think that young people like that exist everywhere in the entire world, but Tokyo is kind of a place that's overflowing with information and things are constantly changing. I would say that there are many different kinds of young people in Tokyo living there. I do think the world depicted in "Babel" does represent a part of the world exists in Tokyo, but not necessarily everything. You do see all these young people hanging out in that (it's called) J-Pop café in the film. There's no question that the film depicts certain aspects of the youth culture in Japan, but ultimately, I think what was important was the director's vision of how he sees the world in Japan, as well. We tried to understand that as well as depicting the real situations that exist in Tokyo.

CS: The movie has gotten a lot of attention for your performance. Are you excited about doing all of the red carpets for the award shows or is it all a bit overwhelming?
Kikuchi: Yes, I was very surprised and it is overwhelming. I'm constantly thinking that I have to do this or that or all these other things, but I'm also trying to have fun as much as I can, although everything is kind of crazy now. That's what I'm trying to focus on, just trying to have some fun through this.

CS: Have you had a chance to meet your awards rival Adrianna yet, even though you were in separate segments of the movie?
Kikuchi: Yes, I've already met her and we're always doing press together in L.A.

CS: And there's no competition between the two of you even though you're both nominated for many of the same awards?
Kikuchi: No, no, of course not. We really respect each other and love each other, so there's nothing like that.

CS: Have you been able to learn any English while doing all of the press for the movie?
Kikuchi: (without her translator) I'm learning English right now!

[MacGuffin]

Pretty much with mod on his points explained in his spoilers. As things got hairy for the characters, I got caught up more in their stories that when the scenes shifted, they were like great cliffhangers. I think the moments that worked for me the most were when there was no dialogue, no sound, just the score and the images - the wedding, the helicopter pick-up, etc.

[MacGuffin]

Babel 2-Disc SE Due
Brad Pitt's dramatic turn caught on two-discs in February.

On February 20, 2007, Paramount Home Entertainment will release Babel (2-Disc Special Edition) on DVD. The flick depicts four individuals, in four different countries, affected by the actions of one couple. It will be available for the MSRP of $37.99 and will feature tons of bonus materials and extra features like...

The Making of Babel: West
The Making of Babel: East
The Making of Babel: Far East
Theatrical Trailer

[Mikey B]

This film floored me with Drama. It's his best hands down and now I have to change my best of 2006  to include this fantastic flick

[Alexandro]

I dont get the negativism towards this movie. THE JAPANESE STORY HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE OTHERS. It's a film about lack of communication, not about the current state of our world, that is used as part of the story, not as a main theme. Since then, thematically, these stories are all deeple interconected, much more than just in the literal storytelling way.

People complaining about watching a bunch of characters make stupid decisions are saying more about themselves than the movie. Iñarritu would never judge the characters that way. And it takes just a little of solidarity to understand every character in this film, without saying they're idiots. The scene in the border is impeccable. It is so realistic. Every mexican Im sure knows what Im talking about here. Everytime we cross the border, even though we've done nothing wrong, we're afraid of being arbitrarely denied the entrance to the US because of this or that. The costumes people are always rude and treat mexicans as suspects of something bad.

The metaphoric nature of the movie is being ignored in favor of criticism of the literal storytelling, whichs is obviously secondary. Rinko Kikuchi's performance is amazing in that regard, a young girl unable to communicate or express frustration excepto via sex. And Barraza was spot on too. Those scenes of the mexican wedding are just like being there.

What I liked the most is the compassionate look the filmmakers have towards the characters. You really can't blame anyone, unless you're so self rightous to understand the character's positions and feelings. How can one judge Pittps answer to the nanny, and at the same tie judge her for her mistake? A woman taking care of other people's kids while her own son is getting married. No one is pointed out. not even the border patrol guys, who can really be some serious assholes when they want to...

I read somewhere that Sam Jackson, while as a jury on Cannes, refered to Babel as Crash Benetton. Really, isn't that a completely idiotic way to look at it? Is this movie about racism for real or is it about something deeper? Whatever, my guess is a lot of people have something personal against guillermo arriaga and iñarritu the way sometimes people hate so much oliver stone or spike lee movies.

[modage]

THE JAPANESE STORY HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE OTHERS.

i think most people just mean superficially the storyline wasn't as linked to the others.  not thematically. 

[Alexandro]

THE JAPANESE STORY HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE OTHERS.

i think most people just mean superficially the storyline wasn't as linked to the others.  not thematically. 

i think so too, that's why it pisses me off. cause that's all that it is, a superficial link. the important linking is thematically. this is not supposed to be short cuts, this is not about figuring about the relationship between this and that character.

[Pozer]

THE JAPANESE STORY HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE OTHERS.

i think most people just mean superficially the storyline wasn't as linked to the others.  not thematically. 

i think so too, that's why it pisses me off. cause that's all that it is, a superficial link. the important linking is thematically. this is not supposed to be short cuts, this is not about figuring about the relationship between this and that character.

weeell.. then what was the point of superficially linking them through the girl's father and the morrocan family - hmmmm?

[Alexandro]

THE JAPANESE STORY HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE OTHERS.

i think most people just mean superficially the storyline wasn't as linked to the others.  not thematically. 

i think so too, that's why it pisses me off. cause that's all that it is, a superficial link. the important linking is thematically. this is not supposed to be short cuts, this is not about figuring about the relationship between this and that character.

weeell.. then what was the point of superficially linking them through the girl's father and the morrocan family - hmmmm?

i didnt' say that the fact that they are literally linked is superficial, I say that the how is what is superficial. They could have made the link in any way that got into their heads as longs as they had the thematic unity the movie aspires to. If I'm gonna get into the position of saying "why they connected the story here instead of here" I will get nowhere. Possibilities to connections are endless, that's why it would be a fucking boring movie if the juice of it were on the dramatic interconnections between each story. The links are all superficial and then each story develops on it's own, none of the stories depend on the other to find a resolution, the links are only used as a start.

[Pozer]

i am a fan of innaritu/babel.  however, i do find (especially after re-watching his films) that the superficial links get in the way of the thematic ones.

[MacGuffin]

Who really made Babel?
Jo Tuckman on the Mexican standoff surrounding Inárritu's Oscar contender.
Source: The Guardian

With an unprecedented 16 Oscar nominations, the titans of contemporary Mexican cinema are riding high. But should they win anything, don't expect any big buddy bear hugs from director Alejandro González Inárritu and scriptwriter Guillermo Arriaga. After collaborating on Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and now Babel - nominated both for best direction and best original screenplay - the two men are barely on speaking terms.

Arriaga has been most vocal about the break-up, complaining that he should be getting more recognition for the three films, which the director seems happy to talk about as his own creations. "It is not true to say that this is Alejandro González Inárritu's trilogy," Arriaga says. He insists they all stemmed from ideas he had "a long time before we even met".

González Inárritu has only reluctantly talked directly about the split of the partnership that, arguably, kickstarted the entire Mexican renaissance. He repeatedly offers only neutral comments, about how he is moving on to a new creative stage. But the director has also claimed the inspiration for Babel as his own, has told some interviewers that he approached other writers first, and even said he gave the text a major overhaul. He also reportedly banned Arriaga from the film's premiere at the Cannes film festival in 2006.

It was never an easy relationship - a long way from the mutually supportive friendships enjoyed by the other two Mexican directors making a global impact: Alfonso Cuarón with Children of Men and Guillermo del Toro with Pan's Labyrinth.

Arriaga and González Inárritu had to overcome deep initial antagonism to start working together on Amores Perros - the film about Mexico City's dark underbelly that catapulted their talent, their ambitions and their considerable egos onto the world stage. From there, they went on to tackle an American story of grief and guilt in 21 Grams, which is when the conflict over recognition reportedly began. And then, in Babel, they took on the theme of global miscommunication, played out in Mexico, the US, Morocco and Japan.

But whatever the truth about the end of one of the most successful writer-director teams of recent times, Arriaga was clearly less involved in making Babel than he had been in the previous films. This has some critics busy identifying hints as to González Inárritu's future direction. He has never made a full-length feature without Arriaga, coming late to the industry after a successful career as a radio DJ and a maker of TV commercials. Fernanda Solórzano, critic for the Mexican culture magazine Letras Libres, sees evidence of Inárritu beginning to shake off the shackles of Arriaga's obsession with interweaving, fragmented plot structures and solemn moral messages. As a result, Babel is filled with loose ends and a touch of moral ambiguity, she says, but also with a freer exploration of character.

Arriaga, who says he is happy with how Babel turned out, has already shown his individual colours in the Tommy Lee Jones-directed The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - which won him best screenplay in Cannes in 2005 - and the film of his novel The Night Buffalo, which premiered in this year's Sundance festival. Both, he says, are the first parts of new and different trilogies - on the desert, and on clandestine love.

Arriaga says he believes that audiences would do well to pick their films from the writing credit. He points to Paris, Texas as more the work of Sam Shepard than Wim Wenders, and applauds Charlie Kaufman's progress into the spotlight. Arriaga won't go quite that far for himself - not yet, anyway. "I say what Chekhov said: 'I write what I can, not what I want to.'" But seeing Babel win best film in Los Angeles, he says, would be like being a divorced parent watching their child win an Olympic medal. "We could share the pride in what we both made."

[MacGuffin]

Talking 'Babel'
Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu on his multicultural gem, working with actors and making beautiful music.
Source: Los Angeles Times

Winner of the Golden Globe for best dramatic picture, "Babel" is nominated for seven Academy Awards including best picture, screenplay and director for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Gonzalez Inarritu, 43, is the first Mexican-born filmmaker to be nominated for a best director Oscar. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and Directors Guild of America Award.

Shot in Africa, America and Japan in five different languages, the gritty drama revolves around the repercussions from the shooting of an American woman (Cate Blanchett) while vacationing with her husband (Brad Pitt) in Morocco.

The film marks the third collaboration between director and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga -- the two have since had a falling out -- which began seven years ago with the Oscar-nominated Mexican drama "Amores Perros."

They followed that up three years later with their first English-language production, "21 Grams," for which Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro received Oscar nominations

Gonzalez Inarritu began his professional career as a disc jockey at the top-rated Mexican station in 1984. By the end of the decade, he was composing music for features and short films.

In the 1990s, he was put in charge of production of a TV company and by 27 was one of its youngest directors. He segued into forming his company for producing advertising, short films and TV. Gonzales Inarritu made his first short feature, "Detras del Dinero" in 1995.

Since you have a background in composing, is directing a film akin to conducting a piece of music?

Completely. The first thing I did in film was the music for short films. I always conceive my films as symphonies. I always perceive myself as orchestrating chaos. My job is to get the best performance from the violin player and the best moments of the piano solo. . . . At the end you are orchestrating to get all of the people involved.

My job is just to choose the right musicians for the right parts and then try to get from them the best. All of us should be coordinated with the story and the themes I want to explore.

"Babel" is a very complex, thematically rich drama.

It's very challenging for audiences in a way that provokes not only on an emotional level, but at the same time on an intellectual level.

At the same time, the film deals with a lot of ideas, subject matters that are affecting all societies simultaneously around the world. The film visually and emotionally touches the nerves and touches the hearts and minds of people. It makes them think -- which is a good thing to happen.

What was it like to direct such a sprawling, globe-trotting feature?

This one challenged me more than ['Amores Perros,' '21 Grams'] because it is not only dealing with intimate stories and the isolation and the lost of these characters, but at the same time it has social commentary that deals with the fate of the world now.

The characters are not physically connected. They never see the faces of each other, but they are thematically and emotionally attached to each other. It was challenging, but when it works with audiences it is very rewarding.

When did you come up with concept come up with "Babel"?

When I was in pre-production on "21 Grams" I conceived this idea of this film on a global scale. I talked and shared this with Guillermo and he liked very much the idea. We thought it was [a way] to explore how an act can create ripples not only with another city or country but around the world.

Just as with your previous films, "Babel" uses a non-linear way to tell the four interwoven stories.

I think that in the end when you are dealing with different stories that are simultaneously happening on the screen, I always think the story finds the best way to be told. And I think by obvious reasons there are no other ways to tell it.

Rinko Kikuchi is nominated for supporting actress for the film. How did you find her?

One year before I start shooting, I traveled to all of these countries [where I would be shooting] .I found found her in one of the first sessions and she blew my mind. She was far the best one because she had an interior life that none of the others had.

One of the most moving scenes is when Brad Pitt breaks down while talking to his son on the phone.

I think that was one of the best moments in the film. I think he and the character merged. There are no cuts in the scene. I just put the camera on him and it just happened. We were shooting at the Casablanca hospital. It was like 6 a.m., and he just broke down. I got goose bumps.

[MacGuffin]

Babel 2-Disc SE Due
Brad Pitt's dramatic turn caught on two-discs in February.

On February 20, 2007, Paramount Home Entertainment will release Babel (2-Disc Special Edition) on DVD. The flick depicts four individuals, in four different countries, affected by the actions of one couple. It will be available for the MSRP of $37.99 and will feature tons of bonus materials and extra features like...

The Making of Babel: West
The Making of Babel: East
The Making of Babel: Far East
Theatrical Trailer

Yeah, this is wrong. Only the single disc - with the trailer as the sole extra - was released today. Mutherf'ers!

[SiliasRuby]

Babel 2-Disc SE Due
Brad Pitt's dramatic turn caught on two-discs in February.

On February 20, 2007, Paramount Home Entertainment will release Babel (2-Disc Special Edition) on DVD. The flick depicts four individuals, in four different countries, affected by the actions of one couple. It will be available for the MSRP of $37.99 and will feature tons of bonus materials and extra features like...

The Making of Babel: West
The Making of Babel: East
The Making of Babel: Far East
Theatrical Trailer

Yeah, this is wrong. Only the single disc - with the trailer as the sole extra - was released today. Mutherf'ers!

They cancelled the two disc, does anyone know why?