January film club

This month we're going to see Babel, the new film from Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (who previously directed Amores Perros and 21 Grams). The film was around both at Cannes, where it divided critics, and at the London Film Festival back in October. I was inspired to make it the January film club choice because of the feature about it in the current issue of Little White Lies (one of my favourite film magazines). They made Babel the feature film for the issue, and waxed lyrical about in in the review, finishing up with the flourish:

"Absorbing, powerful, evocative and emotional, Babel is gripping filmmaking. An utter, unqualified triumph"

Given that I generally respect their movie opinions, that'll do me fine. I must be sort of OK at least.

But it wasn't just their praise of the movie. They did an interview with the director. One of their questions was "What do you love about movies?" His answer was:

"Wow. There are so many angles. What do I love about movies? I think a way to put it is that, besides the fact that I can eat popcorn without guilt, I think that it reminds me of and reveals to me things about the human condition that I'm not aware of until that moment. It brings me closer to the things that I should be close to, but I have forgotten. When a film touches me on that level, it reminds me of my own life, and it gives me justification for this complex life that we are living. It puts me in touch with the source and the reason and the meaning of life"

That could just about be a motto for film club. I'm impressed enought that I want to see his movie even more.

By the way, the film stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal and Rinko Kikuchi, if you like looking at beautiful people while you get in touch with the source and meaning of life.