I forgot to write this in advance, but for all of you headed to the movies this weekend – do not see “Babel” with Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt. It is the biggest pile of poo that I’ve seen, with the possible exception of Oliver Stone’s “Alexander.”
Besides nudity and gratuitous references to sex (while my Muslim husband was wincing in dismay along with me) we were confused by the whole segment of the story shot in Morocco. Why would boys from a village in the Atlas Mountains speak darija, not Tamazight or Tachelheit?
“In Morocco, the key was finding a location to stand in for the village of Tazarine, a small, tight-knit enclave in the southern desert. González Iñárritu had a very clear vision of what he wanted – a traditional-feeling community featuring a central plaza with a mosque, little or no foliage and roads large enough for a tour bus (not to mention a few production vehicles) – and set out to find it. Following a series of scouts near Ouarzazate, Morocco´s now burgeoning film center, González Iñárritu found the remote Berber village of Taguenzalt.”
People from Tazarine might speak darija, but Taguenzalt is 100% Berber. Since they got locals to work on the film, why not just let them speak Berber?
Other irritating things: Suggested incest between one of the young Moroccan brothers and his sister. Tourists who were more concerned about being hot and taking their medicine on time, rather than waiting with the injured woman (Cate) and her husband. (Brad)
The whole thing was ludicrous, really.
One fun bit was that Hamou knows the tour bus driver in the film – so the next time he sees him, he plans to kid him about leaving tourists to die in remote villages.
