Babel
Called this year’s Crash, the film is an epic ensemble drama that crosses three continents and multiple lives. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are an American couple who are trying to save their failing marriage while visiting Morocco. Their trip is drastically changed when two local boys swipe their father’s rifle. Meanwhile back in the States, their loyal housekeeper Adriana Barraza (nominated for Best Supporting Actress) takes the couple’s young children across the border. On the other side of the world, Rinko Kiyuchi(nominated for Best Supporting Actress) is tragic as a depressed, deaf teenager hunting for love in fast-paced Tokyo. All three storylines intersect with heartwrenching irony.
currently playing at the Parkway Speakeasy and available on DVD on the 20th

Volver
Ay Pedro, you’ve done it again. No director quite loves and understands women the way he does and this film transcends his last homage to powerful mothers, All About my Mother. Like that film, Volver follows a family of women but also has the dark humor of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and the bitter nostalgia of Talk to Her. Penelope Cruz shakes off the curse of Tom and gives us an Oscar-worthy portrayal of a newly single mom coping with the death of her own mother.
still playing in theaters