Fresh off his win for Best Director at Cannes, Flare sat down with director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams) at the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss the final film in his “trilogy of life,” the Oscar-hyped Babel
FLARE: Babel was shot on location in Morocco, Tunisia, Mexico, Japan and the U.S. Did you face any barriers filming abroad? Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu: No. The local people were the most generous and beautiful. I always felt welcome. They’re very poor, even when they just have nuts and goat milk and tea, they offer you that. They’re blessed by a very spiritual connection.
F: What is the message you’re trying to convey in this film? AGI: It is about prejudices. The real borderlines are not physical, they’re within us. If more Americans had passports, we would not have all of these wars.
F: How was it for Brad and Cate [Blanchett] working with so many non-actors? AGI: Intense, it demands a lot of patience.
F: Is it true that you considered Stephane Rousseau from The Barbarian Invasions for the part played by Brad Pitt? AGI: He’s good, I thought about him. I had a lot of possibilities in mind, but I do like him a lot!
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