

Tragedy strikes a married couple vacationing in the Moroccan desert, which jumpstarts an interlocking story involving four different families.
Direction
Iñárritu's globe-spanning juggling act finally sticks the landing.
Acting
Rinko Kikuchi's wordless nightclub scene—devastating.
Sound
Gustavo Santaolalla's score plus deaf-mute perspective = genius.

Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The deaf-mute nightclub scene used a 360-degree camera rig with bone-conduction speakers so Kikuchi could feel the bass frequencies.
Babel completed Iñárritu's 'Death Trilogy' with Amores Perros and 21 Grams—though this one finally lets some light leak through the cracks.