Babel Trivia Quiz

Answer: Morocco

The two boys live in the barren hills of Morocco. They herd the family's goats, and part of their job is to protect their goats from jackals.

Answer: The American woman is shot.

The tourist bus is traveling through Morocco when the American woman is shot. The shot comes though the window of the bus, seemingly out of nowhere. The young Arabic brothers have been practicing firing a rifle, when they decide to aim at a vehicle traveling on the road below. Their carelessness will have terrible consequences.

Answer: She goes to the wedding, taking the children with her.

The nanny, named Amelia, (played by Adriana Barraza) finally decides to go to her son's wedding and take the two children. Amelia is unaware of what has happened to Susan, the children's mother, on the bus in Morocco, and is sure everything will be fine.

Indeed the children have a wonderful time. The film's director is from Mexico, and the wedding fiesta is of course totally authentic, with everyone merrily dancing, eating and drinking. Amelia is driven to the wedding across the US-Mexican border by her nephew, played by Mexican star Gael Garcia Bernal.

They enjoy the festivities, and decide to return home late at night. Upon attempting to re-enter the United States, the nephew, who is drunk, gets involved in a confrontation with a US border guard, and things turn ugly, with grave consequences for Amelia.

Answer: The girl's mother dies.

In Tokyo, Japan, a teenage girl named Chieko is struggling with several problems. Hers is probably the film's most compelling story. Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) is rebellious. She is traumatized by the recent death of her mother, and she isn't close to her father. She has started to show some very sexually provocative behavior, and tries to seduce several men during the film.

Answer: She is deaf.

She's deaf, and attends a school for deaf kids. All her friends are deaf, and they seem to have a great deal of fun together. They have video cell phones that blink instead of ringing and "chat" constantly, although Chieko doesn't speak. The actress that plays Chieko in the film, Rinko Kikuchi, gives a magnificent performance, in my opinion. Chieko is questioned about her father by police detectives.

At first she resists their questioning, but later invites one of the detectives to her home. Chieko mistakenly thinks the detectives are investigating her mother's death, when in fact they are seeking information about a rifle that her father took on a hunting trip to Morocco. Chieko's father had given the rifle to his Moroccan hunting guide.

Answer: False

The nearest hospital is four hours away. It takes a very long for the American Embassy to send a helicopter for her. In the meantime, she is taken, along with all the other passengers on the bus, to the nearest village. She is treated by an old woman and a young veterinarian.

Answer: Chicken

The manner in which the chicken is killed, by decapitation, angered some moviegoers in the United States and elsewhere. The chicken is grabbed by the head and twirled around until the head snaps off. Many people have called this gruesome and barbaric, but in fact, at least in Mexico, this is actually how chickens are killed. I've seen this done myself-it's a task that's often left to the woman of the house.

Not a pretty sight, but if you want dinner, that's how it's done.

Answer: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1963. (I've had to leave out the typography in his name.) He was a student of filmmaking and theater, and became a producer for Televisa, the major Mexican television network. He eventually came to the United States to study filmmaking.

He met screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, and they ended up making a very successful film called "Amores Perros" (2000); it earned them an Academy Award nomination for best foreign film. Next they made "21 Grams" (2003), starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro. All three actors received Oscar nominations for their work in that film.

Answer: Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett head up the fine ensemble in this film. The director got remarkable performances from all the members of his cast. Brad Pitt was nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for "Twelve Monkeys". He appeared in "Thelma and Louise" in 1991, which first brought him recognition, Since then, his films have included "A River Runs Through It" (1992), "Se7en" (1995), "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997), "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (2005). Cate Blanchett won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "The Aviator" (2004).

She was also nominated for "Notes on a Scandal" (2006) and "Elizabeth" (1998). She has appeared in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999) and "Oscar and Lucinda" (1997).

Answer: False

That honor was won by Martin Scosese's "The Departed". "Babel" would win only one 2006 Academy Award, for Best Achievement in Music, Original Score by Gustavo Santaolalla.
The film was also nominated for Best Director (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu), Best Editing (Douglas Crise and Stephen Mirrione), Best Writing, Original Screenplay (Guillermo Arriaga), Best Motion Picture of the Year (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jon Kolik, Steve Golin), and for Best Supporting Actress, a nomination each for Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi.
"Babel" is an interesting film, definitely worth seeing.