Babel is a 2006 drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. The film follows the story of four families from three different continents whose lives are interlinked by a single event.
The film begins with a couple, Richard and Susan, on vacation in Morocco. They are on a bus tour with other tourists when a gun is fired, hitting Susan in the shoulder. The rest of the film takes place in four different locations: Morocco, Japan, Mexico, and the United States.
In Morocco, the event triggers a chain reaction that involves the couple's Moroccan tour guide, his family, and a young goatherd. Meanwhile, in Japan, a deaf-mute teenage girl struggles to communicate with her father after her mother's suicide. In Mexico, a poor family is struggling to make ends meet and their two young sons accidentally shoot an American tourist. Finally, in the US, a wealthy couple is dealing with their rebellious teenage daughter and the aftermath of a tragedy that occurred in their family years ago.
As the narrative shifts between these disparate stories, the film explores themes of communication, misunderstanding, and the interconnectedness of human lives. Ultimately, the film offers a poignant and complex portrait of the human experience, as well as a critique of the many ways in which we fail to understand and connect with each other.