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Babel

(2006, Rated R, Drama, Starring Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, Gael García Bernal)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 15, age appropriate for kids over 16; suggested age 15.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Mature themes mark stories about communication.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 15–16

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Bad decisions throughout: A high-school girl rebels (parties, does drugs, reveals her body); a young boy shoots rifle on a lark; U.S. tourists travel in a country where they're at once privileged and fearful (racist); a nanny travels with her young charges to Mexico, then has trouble crossing the border back into California; her nephew tries to race away from border guards. Some of these characters recover, others don't.
  • Violence:

    Violence involving children: A Moroccan boy accidentally shoots an American tourist (badly injured, she bleeds and weakens throughout the film and endures stitching without anesthesia); a boy is shot by authorities (bloody body); a boy and authorities exchange gunfire (boy enthusiastic, then horrified); discussion of a mother's suicide and her daughter's consideration of same; authorities threaten a Moroccan man with a gun to the head, then beat him (bloodied face); at a Mexican wedding, revellers shoot guns, scaring Caucasian/U.S.-born children.
  • Sex:

    A high-school student opens her legs to reveal underwearless crotch (revealing a dark area, very briefly); the same girl shows her naked body to a policeman in effort to "communicate" her sadness and loneliness (she has two shots of full-frontal nudity); girl licks her dentist (he sends her home); a boy watches his sister undress through a peephole, upsetting their father when he finds out; a boy masturbates; young people kiss/dance.
  • Language:

    Repeated (15+) uses of "f--k" (at least one in Japanese with subtitle); some other profanity ("s--t," "a--hole," "ass").
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Cigarette smoking, drinking (some underage, and one character drives drunk), and drugs (high school students).
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Babel

Parents need to know that this film includes explicit, traumatic violence, especially by gunfire and especially involving young children. In one incident, a boy shoots a rifle at a tourists' bus from far away, accidentally hitting a young mother; she bleeds and becomes increasingly weak through the rest of the film. In another, authorities shoot at a father and his two young sons (one shoots back at them, and the other is shot dead, all shown in bloody, sad imagery). When a nanny is lost in the desert with two young children, the kids become badly dehydrated and very sick. To shock some boys, a high school student shows off what's under her school uniform skirt. She also discusses her mother's suicide and considers it for herself; at one point she stands on a high rise balcony, frightening her father. The same girl later appears naked before a policeman (there are two shots of frontal nudity). A boy masturbates. Characters drink, smoke, do drugs, and use profanity, especially "f--k."

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the film's central theme -- communication. How can you communicate with someone if you don't understand their language? How can communication help solve problems? How do parents and caregivers sometimes end up making poor decisions about the kids in their care? Could situations like that be avoided if rebellious children and their angry or anxious parents were able to talk? How do the movie's imagery and soundtrack evoke the experiences of being afraid, high, or even deaf?

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in Kentucky
    I rate this title off for age 15 and give it 1.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language

    nasty

    very disgusting especially to show children doing things such as masturbating and showing their private parts

  2. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 4.0

    I liked it.

    I thought the film was good. I needed more info on the Asian girl's story though. But still, it was a pretty good movie.

  3. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in Michigan
    I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it 4.0

    Fresh and Engaging Cinema, with Mature but Relevant Theme

    This film cleverly, carefully and artfully paints a dramatic landscape filled with emotional hotbuttons: racism, fear, childhood, adolescence, parenthood, love, law, lawlessness. It is filmmaking at its very best. Innaritu's style creates tension and suspense (thanks to a well-written script and screenplay) with no stars or cheezy showboating; this is pure story. I can't recall a recent movie where I truly had no idea what would happen next -- being playfully teased, even. Many adult/mature themes, so not for kids under 17, but this is good cinema.

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in California
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 5.0

    !!!!

    One of the most amazing movies I've ever seen.

  5. Teen Reviewer Age 16
    Lives in Wisconsin
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 4.0

  6. Teen Reviewer Age 17
    Lives in Maryland
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 4.0

  7. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Illinois
    I rate this title iffy for age 2 and give it 3.0

    Crash "2"

    Not much to really say about this, it wasn't a great film, but it didn't lack any thing. Some stuff when no where like the middle eastern boy masturbating to thoughts of his sister. It was a good effort as a whole could of been better but I don't know how. Its worth a look at none the less.

  8. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Scary!

    Evil Chinise Lady Shows Her Boobs! lol! scary! not 4 kidz! roflcopter!

  9. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Arizona
    I rate this title iffy for age 17 and give it 4.0

    Thought-provoking adult movie

    This movie reminds us that life doesn't always tie things up with a neat ribbon, that all is not as it may appear and that love doesn't always conquer all. That said, there is enough of redemption and forgiveness in the film (the disraught father reassuring his children that he's fine when he clearly is deeply upset; the daughter who wants her father's acceptance despite his obvious placement of work above his relationship with her, etc.) to make it a possibility for older young people.

  10. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 2.0

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