Describing Babylon in a review with a few words is truly a daunting task. This is because Damien Chazelle’s film is an experience that needs to be lived, it cannot be read or heard through third parties. It is now a rarity to find such a film in the modern cinematic landscape.

Despite this premise, today we will attempt to give you a taste of the sensations experienced while watching it in the theater. So sit back and join us on this journey that takes us to the origins of cinema, amidst the excesses and audacity typical of Hollywood.

Let us now delve deeper into this work, which certainly deserved more recognition from the general audience.

Review of Babylon

The Birth of Cinema

As mentioned before, the plot of Babylon takes us back to the early days of the American film industry in the 1920s. It’s a backward journey that immediately catapults us into the arid hills of the Californian desert, where the sun, animals, sand, and opulent villas reign.

And it is within these villas that the true soul of the cinema of that era resides, with established stars and dreamers trying to make their way in a closed and often unattainable bubble.

On one hand, we have Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), an established silent film star, loved by all and always present at the parties organized by the local producers. Alongside him is the young Manuel (Diego Calva), a Mexican boy who dreams of climbing the heights of the film world but finds himself as a humble lackey forced to perform the most degrading tasks in order to be noticed. And finally, Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), a young girl from humble origins who tries to become a star through her impudence and bad taste (successfully, it must be noted).

All these characters, in one way or another, embody the perfect picture of the cinema of the 1920s. At that time, cinema was not an industry as we know it today. They all belong to the opulent and excessive Babylon that Chazelle wanted to depict in the first part of the film. It’s a sort of La La Land in reverse, much grittier, which allows us to appreciate the romantic beginnings of cinema while emphasizing its human aspect.

An Evolving Industry

While initially our characters find themselves caught up in a climb towards success, which leads Nellie LaRoy to become a well-respected star nationwide, the advent of sound ruins everyone’s plans.

Indeed, as mentioned, in the 1920s there was a very romanticized view of cinema. Much was left to the audience’s imagination within the film, and actors had to focus more on interpretation than technique. In other words, it was a cinema made with heart, often impulsive and created at a frenetic pace.

However, with the introduction of sound, everything quickly changed. Cinema started to become popular, spreading like wildfire. This led production companies to speed up the process, giving a more industrial structure to film production.

And it is precisely this transition that Babylon forcefully highlights through the rise and fall of its characters. Jack Conrad and Nellie LaRoy undoubtedly pay the highest price, given their chronic inability to adapt to the new sound technology.

Illustrative in this sense is the scene that involves Nellie, forced to repeat a scene multiple times just to achieve perfect audio. This technical revolution, as we mentioned, left behind the children of a romantic cinema that was no longer in tune with the times.

All of this inevitably leads to the collapse of the “old world” and the inevitable erasure of all previous certainties. Cinema thus becomes a mass tool, industrialized to meet the demands of the audience, and later imbued with Technicolor.

The Strength of Babylon

After briefly discussing the plot and the message that Babylon wants to convey, let’s talk about the strength of this film beyond its story. Chazelle’s work is much more than a mere collection of events.

It is an exercise in style by its director, a tribute, a true and timeless ode to the seventh art. This is further sublimated by the imposed rhythms, alternating between unrestrained and lightning-fast chaos filled with fun and moments of silence laden with emotions and reflections.

The first part of Babylon leaves no room for the audience to breathe, constantly propelled by an undulating flow that creates addiction. The viewers unconsciously feel the need to know what will happen in the next scene, which is always different from the previous one.

Of course, there are some lulls during the three-hour duration, but we’re talking about minor fragments in a work that has come close to technical perfection.

Furthermore, we cannot fail to mention the power of Babylon’s linguistic register, constantly profane and over-the-top with terms that would hardly find space in productions of our time. However, let’s be clear, we’re not talking about politically incorrect words used randomly, but rather things perfectly contextualized within a time frame that is portrayed to the best of its ability.

A Finale that Deserves Special Mention

Although the plot resolves somewhat predictably for the main characters, the true ending of the film doesn’t aim to conclude their stories. As mentioned earlier, Chazelle’s film not only wants to tell us the stories of the protagonists but also of the world of cinema.

In the final lines, the viewers are overwhelmed by a strange, almost dreamlike vision. They are propelled forward to the late 1950s when Manuel finds himself back in Los Angeles. By chance, he enters a movie theater and witnesses a screening whose title is not revealed to us.

During the screening, the scene lingers for a few seconds on Diego Calva’s face, gradually capturing his reaction to what he sees on the screen. Suddenly, everything changes, mutates, into a sequence of images that show us the masterpieces that have marked the history of cinema. From ancient stop-motion classics to epics like Ben-Hur, and all the way to modern times with Avatar, The Matrix, and Jurassic Park.

Damien Chazelle wanted to conclude his cinematic Babylon by condensing almost 100 years of film history into a few minutes. It’s a lightning-fast sequence, capable of striking a chord with all enthusiasts of the medium. It’s a tribute that cannot fail to move those who have lived, are living, and still love this world.

Even an older, weathered Manuel, still in love with cinema despite the passage of time and events, is moved by this homage. And his face, streaked with tears of happiness, is the perfect photograph that closes Babylon, reflecting the sensations of anyone fortunate enough to witness this film with their own eyes.