They say the gun that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 and plunged Europe into war fired “the shot that was heard around the world.” In Babel, director Alejandro González Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga take that idea literally, a single rifle shot in the deserts of Morocco sending shock waves across the globe. Three continents, four families, five lives in the balance: the stakes are undeniably high. Essentially, though, that careless bullet fulfils the same function as the car collision in Amores Perros or the hit-and-run in 21 Grams – a convenient dramatic catalyst that allows the duo to weave together disparate strands in a complex, interlocking narrative. The canvas may be bigger, but the brushstrokes remain the same.
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