Four of us saw this movie at the Esquire on Saturday night. We were so stunned when it was over that we had to repair to Sitwell’s next door for recovery and discussion. What was that movie about? we asked each other. What was the point of so much misery? and how did it all turn out, after the story was over?
The scenery, the cinematography was simply incredible and worth the price of admission. Morocco’s deserts, downtown and upscale Tokyo, suburbia and a trip to Mexico for a wedding. The eye for details, for telling us everything without a word. Wow!
The more inner landscapes – a poor Moroccan family at home, an American tour bus, a Moroccan town and how it works, the shifting relationship between Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, supposed terrorism as an overlay to almost all of it.
Still – what was it about? Globalization? Terror? Interconnectedness? The safety and gentility of the Japanese culture? Our sameness? Our differences?
I woke up the next morning with the answer for me – the meaning is babel – how we don’t hear each other any more – if we ever did.