Babel and The Prestige ***SPOILERS***

[Bigfoot]

Yeah the knot is a big deal. It's the reason for a lot of the animosity between the two characters. I think the two Borden's shared time the way they did simply because that's how things ended up happening in terms of the plot. They started out whenever they did being one Borden and Fallon and then the relationship with Sarah developed into marriage etc. I think by that point they were just stuck with how they had always been doing things. Obviously not the cleanest or believable storylines, but I don't think it detracts from the movie.

Babel baffled me. I had high hopes for the film (based on his previous works) and it just disappointed me on every level. I can't even begin to understand how it was nominated for best picture. I wouldn't hesistate to use the world "terrible" to describe it and rate it as nearly unwatchable.

[LBK]

My fiance and I actually loved Babel. I thought it was very well acted and the different story lines were well put together. Loved seeing dramatic situations in the different cultures that were represented. Didn't think the film was boring at all.

[wh1t3bread]

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My fiance and I actually loved Babel. I thought it was very well acted and the different story lines were well put together. Loved seeing dramatic situations in the different cultures that were represented. Didn't think the film was boring at all.

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I'm going to have to disagree with you here and agree with the other Posters. This film bored me to (almost) tears. I almost turned it off numerous times, but struggled through it. My thinking at the time was that this film was so critically acclaimed as well as being nominated for best picture that I must be missing something....so I kept watching...only to be completely disappointed in the end.

I think the connecting of all of the story lines was a complete stretch and I thought that the deaf/mute Japanese girl's struggle to lose her virginity was a ridiculous plot premise. Surely something more interesting could have been thought of here.

So yeah, in short I hated it.

[TheDudeAbides]

I can't believe the hate for Babel. I'm certainly no filmie, but I was really impressed by the use of (or perhaps lack of is a better way to put it) sound in this movie. I found the scenes with the Japanese girl and Brad Pitt in the small village to be very powerful.

I did think that the endind was a cop-out though.

[DemonDeac]

I liked Babel because of it's "every effect has a cause" look. It's almost like the butterfly effect. Something small now can lead to big problems later.

[Marwan]

I couldn't get over the idea of a Japanese upperclass older guy who would go hunting in the middle east. Didn't seem like the type.. I agree with some others that this could have been a single, linear storyline in some fashion (maybe take one story out if need be).. it didn't really have a need to jump back and forth b/c the connections seemed pointless..

[wh1t3bread]

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I couldn't get over the idea of a Japanese upperclass older guy who would go hunting in the middle east.

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This is what bothered me most about the movie. Also, the only thing to hunt in Morocco is birds. So what the hell was he doing with a rifle like that?

[Enrique]

With respect to the Prestige. Both like being Borden. Borden feels real. Fallon doesn't feel real. They can't have two Bordens at the same time for fear of somebody discovering. Whenever one is Borden the other has to be Fallon. That is the sacrifice, just like the old chinese guy has to walk as a cripple all the time.

You have to understand how dedicated they are to it. They even cut their finger to the one that didn't get shot.

With regards to Babel. I thought the movie was very good and I am quite surprised to how bored people got seeing it. I thought the stories were strong and delivered the idea of miscommunication. A little mistake can lead to terrible things. I was not bored at all and I thought it deserved the recognition it got.
I think part of the disappointment of other people is that Amores Perros was so great that in comparison Babel is weak. But Babel and 21 Grams are comparable, I don't understand how some people loved 21 Grams and hated Babel, both seem of the same quality to me.

[Marwan]

ya, and those were like the desolate mountainous ranges of Moracco or wherever they were.. Maybe I missed something along the way, but what drew him to do such a thing? Just to get away from the whole wife murder/suicide investigation? Everything seemed like a stretch.. which gets back to some of the behavior being irrational and a little dramatic.. And hot japanese girl would certainly have guys all over her regardless of the communication barrier!

[Colt McCoy]

Brad Pitt's acting was the highlight of Babel. He was very good. Otherwise, what everyone else said, bored me to tears.