Babel Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Opening Scene/ Beginning:
- A man is walking with a gun= unsynchronised sound
- Can also hear the wind and footsteps
- The two sons have sibling rivalry
- Casting is correct= genuine Moroccan people
- They speak Arabic in morocco
- The women are washing in the river= that is what their job is
- The younger son is spying through a small hole in the house= masking
- Establishing Shot showing the landscape morocco= earthy colours, very dry
- The sons were wearing an orange, brown colour in there clothing
In America:
- Amelia (the nanny)- is speaking Spanish to the children (they understand what she is
saying)
- Boxed in (trapped) when speaking to her boss- Richard
- She really cares for the children and she is a good person
- Their brother Sam died in his sleep- the children both have a fear that they will die in
their sleep
- Richard asks Amelia to stay and look after the kids and miss her sons wedding
- Amelia ask someone else to look after the kids but she says no
- Amelia’s son comes to pick them up to take them to the wedding
In Morocco:
- Susan and Richard are ordering stu . They are not both in the same shot= their
relationship is shaky
- Susan is a germ freak= throw out the ice, using hand sanitiser.
- She thinks she is better than them and doesn’t t in with the people in Morocco which
is the opposite of Tessa
- Richard didn’t handle the death of their baby well so he ran away
- They are outsiders in the desert= just traveling through
- Holding hands= attempt at reconciliation
- Susan was shot by the gun- linking to opening scene
In Tokyo, Japan:
• Whenever we see her face there are barriers surrounding her
• Our rst instinct is to be sympathetic with her because she is deaf
• Chieko is very angry and frustrated with what went on during the volleyball match
• The space she is in with her friends is not very safe
• The dialogue gives us the understanding that she has background frustration= Her
mother payed attention to her but her father doesn’t (that’s how she feels)= he is trying
but she is distant
fi ff fi
, • The proxemic distance between them is not close= shows that they don’t have a close
relationship
• The rst time she smiles is when she sees her friends in the mall
• Her emotions change because she is rejected by the boy because she is deaf
• Her reaction is very explosive
• She is determined to get attention=resolute
Back in Morocco:
- The boys feel guilty for what they have done
- Jump to conclusion= American is killed must be a terrorist
In Mexico City:
- Stereotype= Mexico is dangerous because its full of Mexicans
- Amelia keeps checking that the kids are okay= not intentionally trying to harm them
- The redy orange colour pops up everywhere
Back in Morocco:
- blood of the chicken (in previous scene) links to the blood in the bus
- Proxemic Range: They are closer together now- maybe something good has come
from this
- Tourists not comfortable with the surroundings
- In both movies the children are running after the vehicle
- The community looks very concerned
- The music playing in the background is very sombre= showing something bad has
happened
- Susan doesn’t want to be left along with strange people whereas tessa didn’t mind
being left alone
- From the scream to the silence in Japan also the contrast between the colours in
morocco= brown, dirty and in Japan= white
Back in Japan:
- she will do anything to get attention= scene with doctor
- second time she has been rejected by a male
- a close up of her face to show us all her emotions= disappointed and sad= it is
something much deeper
- she has to communicate with the police o cers by writing down on a piece of paper
- On the video call we see her smile for one of the very few times and she is acting like
an average teenager
- Her room is an absolute mess= chaos which links back to morocco
- seriousness of the cops to smiling = delayed reaction
fi ffi
Opening Scene/ Beginning:
- A man is walking with a gun= unsynchronised sound
- Can also hear the wind and footsteps
- The two sons have sibling rivalry
- Casting is correct= genuine Moroccan people
- They speak Arabic in morocco
- The women are washing in the river= that is what their job is
- The younger son is spying through a small hole in the house= masking
- Establishing Shot showing the landscape morocco= earthy colours, very dry
- The sons were wearing an orange, brown colour in there clothing
In America:
- Amelia (the nanny)- is speaking Spanish to the children (they understand what she is
saying)
- Boxed in (trapped) when speaking to her boss- Richard
- She really cares for the children and she is a good person
- Their brother Sam died in his sleep- the children both have a fear that they will die in
their sleep
- Richard asks Amelia to stay and look after the kids and miss her sons wedding
- Amelia ask someone else to look after the kids but she says no
- Amelia’s son comes to pick them up to take them to the wedding
In Morocco:
- Susan and Richard are ordering stu . They are not both in the same shot= their
relationship is shaky
- Susan is a germ freak= throw out the ice, using hand sanitiser.
- She thinks she is better than them and doesn’t t in with the people in Morocco which
is the opposite of Tessa
- Richard didn’t handle the death of their baby well so he ran away
- They are outsiders in the desert= just traveling through
- Holding hands= attempt at reconciliation
- Susan was shot by the gun- linking to opening scene
In Tokyo, Japan:
• Whenever we see her face there are barriers surrounding her
• Our rst instinct is to be sympathetic with her because she is deaf
• Chieko is very angry and frustrated with what went on during the volleyball match
• The space she is in with her friends is not very safe
• The dialogue gives us the understanding that she has background frustration= Her
mother payed attention to her but her father doesn’t (that’s how she feels)= he is trying
but she is distant
fi ff fi
, • The proxemic distance between them is not close= shows that they don’t have a close
relationship
• The rst time she smiles is when she sees her friends in the mall
• Her emotions change because she is rejected by the boy because she is deaf
• Her reaction is very explosive
• She is determined to get attention=resolute
Back in Morocco:
- The boys feel guilty for what they have done
- Jump to conclusion= American is killed must be a terrorist
In Mexico City:
- Stereotype= Mexico is dangerous because its full of Mexicans
- Amelia keeps checking that the kids are okay= not intentionally trying to harm them
- The redy orange colour pops up everywhere
Back in Morocco:
- blood of the chicken (in previous scene) links to the blood in the bus
- Proxemic Range: They are closer together now- maybe something good has come
from this
- Tourists not comfortable with the surroundings
- In both movies the children are running after the vehicle
- The community looks very concerned
- The music playing in the background is very sombre= showing something bad has
happened
- Susan doesn’t want to be left along with strange people whereas tessa didn’t mind
being left alone
- From the scream to the silence in Japan also the contrast between the colours in
morocco= brown, dirty and in Japan= white
Back in Japan:
- she will do anything to get attention= scene with doctor
- second time she has been rejected by a male
- a close up of her face to show us all her emotions= disappointed and sad= it is
something much deeper
- she has to communicate with the police o cers by writing down on a piece of paper
- On the video call we see her smile for one of the very few times and she is acting like
an average teenager
- Her room is an absolute mess= chaos which links back to morocco
- seriousness of the cops to smiling = delayed reaction
fi ffi
