Why "Babel" Should Win Best Picture

From The Dispatch:

Of all of this year's Best Picture nominees, "Babel" is the most emotionally complex, the most timely, and the most accomplished. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu has crafted a sprawling yet intimate drama that spans the globe, powerfully realizing the effects of globalization and what happens when different cultures are unable to communicate. Featuring the year's best ensemble cast (Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Best Supporting Actress nominees Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi, Gael Garcia Bernal and Kôji Yakusho, as well as the rest of the international cast, are all in top form), "Babel" examines the serious ramifications of what happens when cultures clash and communication fails.

But it's more than some pithy "communication is the key" Dr. Phil Band-Aid - "Babel" is a messy film, filled with the intricacies of our world as we know it. Life is not black and white, and "Babel" plants itself firmly in that gray area between right and wrong, good and evil, where real life dwells. It is through González Iñárritu's steady hand that the story of "Babel" becomes the story of life in our time.I believe that one day film historians will look back on "Babel" and see it very much as a statement of what it felt like to live in the early part of the 21st century - the uncertainty, the angst, the confusion. It may not ring true to future audiences, but this is a film for the here and now. And no other film this year has captured that so hauntingly and urgently. To be able to capture a feeling, a consciousness, a moment in time, is a towering achievement indeed. And as such, "Babel" deserves to win Best Picture.

Click here to read my full Best Picture rundown.