米迦網誌::Encounter with God

BABEL《巴別塔》

February 3, 2007

影片︰BABEL trailer

終於看了期待已久的 BABEL (《巴別塔》)。

享受了整套電影，非常值得看。
特別欣賞它對人性的刻劃、內心世界的描述、溝通問題帶來的痛苦、人與人之間的牽連性、不被明白的感受、處於兩難的困難、人際裡的隔膜、人的有限性…
以及它整套拍攝的手法、鏡頭的焦點選取、陳述故事的特別方式 (以幾個不同但卻又可以有牽連的故事簡斷的放在銀幕上)，
還有攝影角度、演員臉部的表情流露、配樂，
實在很喜歡。

來看看導演 Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu 為此影片解畫︰

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu on the title of the film: “Babel, we think about man building this tower and trying to arrive to the sky and be gods. And then God got angry and he created these different languages. And that’s the reason we are talking so many languages all over the world.

For me that’s not the problem, I think that language can be very easy to break. For me, I think the problem is the ideas and preconceptions that we have that really keep us apart. That’s what the film’s about. And at the same time, I want this film to be basically about what separates us and what brings us together. I think that’s the key element: What makes us the same people living in the world and not what are our differences. Which ones are the similarities and I hope this film communicates that.”

Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu on the film’s message: “I don’t know if it’s an x-ray of the world because that’s too ambitious, but I tried to show what is going on with us at the moment. We see the “other” as always abstract, so that to be different means to be dangerous and not able to understand the other.

This is happening not only country between country, but against fathers, against sons, against husband… We are not able to listen anymore. I want to talk about that, the borders within our souls: our preconceptions of our fathers, the archetypes we have from religions, races, cultures. I tried to make a film that talks about prejudice without being prejudice.”

Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu on the editing: “Seeing a film is a very fragmented emotional experience. At this time, I didn’t want to play with that. I wanted to be more linear so that people wouldn’t feel distracted by the film structure and just let them flow with the emotion of the film.”

Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu on coincidences in life: “I feel that the connection that I want to make is not a physical or coincidental connection, nor a plot connection. What I try to do in this film, I think as human beings, what makes us happy is very different, depends on cultures or races. What makes us sad and miserable is exactly what we share and that thing is basically the impossibility of love, the impossibility to be touched by love, the impossibility to touch with love and express it.

That is one of the most painful things that every human being has experienced, as well as feeling vulnerable to love.

I think those two things are the most tragic things that bring us together. This film and the connections to the characters is about that, all of them on different levels, no matter which culture, no matter which country, religion, age, social class… All of these people are at an inability to express themselves, with their husbands, with their wives, with their kids.

When you cannot be touched by words, and when you cannot touch people with words, then the body becomes a weapon, an invitation and that is what is tremendous about the story. I feel that you saw a film about human beings and not about Moroccans, Mexicans nor Americans.”

Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu on the USA: “In this film I don’t want good or bad guys. I think what is happening in the world is perpetuated. I try to be subtle in way, to not be archetypal, and not prejudice.

When I think about an Empire, it’s not about nations, human beings, others. It’s the way they normally try to pretend that everyone is a terrorist, anything can be held against you. I think there is now an obsessive idea, obsessive problem with the United States, showing the power.

This is a very stressful moment in history.”

extracted from: Cannes Film Festival 2006 | BABEL