cult films

if you want to be understood… listen.

dir.: alejandro gonzález iñárritu
drama
2006
brad pitt / gael garcía bernal

facts:
- the scene where chieko and her father are in the car together was shot without filming permission from the city due to slow japanese bureaucratic procedures. the crew created “man-made” busy traffic, and began shooting the scene. later the police started chasing them while still shooting the scene.
- the color red is prominently seen in all four segments of the film. for example, yussef, wears a red jacket that says “morocco” on the back, while amelia wears an elaborate red dress, causing her to stand out; chieko frequently uses a red pen to write notes to people who can’t understand sign language, and the seats on richard and susan’s bus are red.
- the shallow depth of field in chieko’s sequences is a nod to the photography of mona kuhn. most of kuhn’s photos have shallow focus, a concept used by the filmmakers to emphasize chieko’s deafness and isolation.
- almost all of the film, even the driving scenes, was shot using a hand-held camera.
- since each story was filmed at different times and on different continents, some of the cast members never met their counterparts until the film’s premiere.