I’m pet-sitting through the weekend and brought along some DVDs, a book, crossword puzzles and knitting needles and yarn (just to mix it up).

One of the DVDs I brought along is “Babel.” I watched it tonight and ended up fast-forwarding through a fair bit of the movie since the drawn out, dialogue-free shots (with “world music” played over them) got very old very quickly.

Sure, I could convince myself that it’s enjoyable and talk about biblical references, the idea of Babel, the trope of communication/miscommunication/lack of communication and how going without dialogue for long stretches helps further those concepts… much like the deaf-mute girl’s experiences in a world of silence.

Somehow, though, that’s not enough for me to enjoy this movie. I get the point of the stories, the interweaving, etc. and I did feel sympathy for the children’s nanny, the Moroccan family, the American father, and the Japanese girl, as well as the Moroccan tour guide. There was an emotional connection, but this movie was structured to push those emotions onto you. That’s how it goes. There’s a place for it, but I don’t like the manipulation of emotions to be the crux of a movie’s impact; there wasn’t enough here for me to sink my cerebral teeth into.

And yes, I understood the irony and social commentary involved in the “terrorist attack” as well as the issues with the border patrol and embassy, or the wife’s xenophobia (and other phobias). Again, they were there, but not structured enough to make me WANT to sit through every single moment of the film to see what happened next. Instead, it made me want to fast forward through until the next bit of plot development occurred since it wasn’t doing it for me otherwise.

Also, was it me, or did Brad Pitt’s “make me look like a believable middle-aged yuppie husband” makeup just make him look really powdery? He should’ve been a leeeetle bit shinier after all that…. and don’t tell me the Moroccan dust acts as a mineral face powder. Nuh-uh. Meanwhile, they loaded all the grease they could onto Gael Garcia Bernal - for his character, appropriate. But not particulary necessary. Chicken scene? Appropriate and somewhat helpful.

Anyway - I shall stop pontificating. Doggie needs her nighttime walk and I need to set about my evening rituals.