Babel

How this film uses it

The four stories are not told in order, and you learn how they connect as the film goes on. You start with strangers and slowly see the rifle that links them. The puzzle makes you pay attention to every thread.

Where to see it

Scrambled timeline: the film tells its stories out of chronological order. As it unfolds, the audience learns how the plots are intertwined.

How this film uses it

The film cuts between Morocco, Japan, San Diego and Mexico. The cuts let you compare people who have never met. Fear and worry in one place echo in another.

Where to see it

Four settings: the film alternates between the shot tourist in Morocco, the nanny and the children near Tijuana, the goat-herders and the deaf girl in Japan.

How this film uses it

The rifle moves from hand to hand, and every owner is tied to the harm that follows. A hunting gift from a Japanese tourist ends up with two boys in Morocco. It stands for how one choice reaches far beyond the person who made it.

Where to see it

The rifle's journey: Yasujiro gives his rifle to Hassan, his hunting guide. Hassan sells it to Abdullah, who gives it to his sons, and Susan is shot with it.

How this film uses it

Chieko is deaf, and the film puts you in her world. In a nightclub with strobe lights and flashing colors, the film shows how she senses things differently. It makes you feel her isolation instead of only hearing about it.

Where to see it

Nightclub: Chieko, a deaf teenage girl, goes to a nightclub filled with strobe lights and flashing colors. The scene was so intense that Japanese distributors added a health warning.

How this film uses it

Gustavo Santaolalla's score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The film ends with Ryuichi Sakamoto's song Bibo no Aozora. The mix of sounds helps the four countries feel like one story.

Where to see it

Closing scene: the film's closing scene features Bibo no Aozora by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Chieko stands with her father on the balcony as he comforts her.