Babel

I thought the tangential subplots held together by a friendly material exchange in a foreign land was a somewhat interesting way to look into how the sense of helplessness and isolation can be derived from stressful situations arising from the lack of effective communication or cultural/political red tape. The main problem is that out of the 4 main subplots, it's the Japanese one that hits home, while the remainder lag behind, and the film as a whole is less than the sum of its parts. Even so, the direction by Inarritu is very good, and the performances are good, some are heartbreaking. The screenplay is where the film falters.

I give it 3 stars or a grade of B.