UNITED KINGDOM: London Film Festival closes with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's critically acclaimed movie 'Babel'

Record ID: 219229

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: London Film Festival closes with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's critically acclaimed movie 'Babel'
  • Date: 9th November 2006
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (NOVEMBER 02, 2006) (REUTERS) ACTOR GAEL GARCIA BERNAL ON THE RED CARPET SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2006 12:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA9PT22P2A1V7Y9VQ1NVFRTIJHP
  • Story Text: After 16 days and over 400 screenings, the 50th London Film Festival wrapped up on Thursday (November 02) with a gala premiere of 'Babel', an examination of linguistic, cultural and personal barriers that sweeps across three continents and tackles terrorism, immigration and suicide.
    'Babel' stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, who together with Mexico's Gael Garcia Bernal and Japan's Koji Yakusho appear alongside little known actors from northern Africa. Neither of the two Hollywood stars turned up for the London premiere. Instead, the film was introduced by Garcia Bernal, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi.
    Mexican director Inarritu said 'Babel' was part of a trilogy he started with highly acclaimed films 'Amores Perros' and '21 Grams'.
    Inarritu won the best director's trophy at the Cannes film festival in May, and 'Babel' is earning wide praise from critics and industry watchers who put it high on this year's list of must-see Oscar hopefuls.
    The film interweaves four stories. Moroccan boys take their father's rifle to practice shoot. Two U.S. tourists (Blanchett and Pitt) are victims of an errant bullet from the rifle. In San Diego, problems arise when a Mexican nanny takes the Americans' kids across the border, and in Tokyo, a deaf teenager copes in dangerous ways with the death of her mom.
    The film utilizes four small, personal stories about husbands, wives, fathers, mothers and children to comment on a big, global problem of how a lack of understanding and respect for different people and cultures can spark violence. It challenges audiences intellectually, yet Inarritu has simplified the delivery of the movie's themes by using personal stories to which audiences can relate.
    "I don't want to be a preachy guy and say how things should be done or what to think. I just want to raise the questions that I have, to explore and exorcise my fears and the things that fill my heart and soul and I'm sure there are a lot of people who share with me that anxiety that this world we are living in, the things that we are now struggling with," the director told Reuters on the red carpet.
    "I don't believe in propaganda films," he added.
    While the film is mainly about barriers on a personal level, it sends clear messages about political problems including misunderstandings on the U.S.-Mexican border and those surrounding the issue of religious extremism.
    Garcia Bernal, who made his acting debut in Inarritu's 'Amores Perros' said the film's themes hit close to home.
    "It is so much easier for me to work in Mexico, doing Mexican characters and I can fly even more. I guess it was one of the main attractions also for me to do this part, that it was going to be shot in Mexico, in a beautiful place, an incredible and amazing place called Tijuana, which is one of the most complex places on earth," he said.
    The Mexican heart-throb was joined on the red carpet with new-comer Kikuchi, who spent a year auditioning for the role of the deaf-mute Japanese girl, and learned sign-language in order to convince Inarritu of her commitment to the film.
    Kikuchi, who had previously only appeared in Japanese films, said the film had changed her life, but added she wasn't sure how, yet.
    "I hope it has affected my acting career but I'm not sure about it yet. But it was a wonderful experience to work with these wonderful, talented people from all the different countries. It was a beautiful experience for me," she said.
    Sandra Hebron, Artistic Director of the London Film Festival said 'Babel' was a perfect movie to close this year's festival.
    "I think Alejandro is one of the most exciting directors working in world cinema. I think the film takes very personal stories and situates them in the context of global politics and it's a hugely ambitious and very cinematic film, a very bold piece of film-making. People will want to talk about it after they've seen it and that's always a great thing to close the festival with," she said.
    The film's title is derived from the biblical tale of the Tower of Babel, which humans built to reach heaven. But God saw it as a symbol of defiance. He gave people different languages, so they could not speak to each other and finish the tower. Then, God scattered humans to different parts of the world.
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