More manufactured coincidence from screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams). This time they weave together the stories of a nanny who brings her American charges across the border for a Mexican wedding; an American couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) suffering a medical emergency while traveling across Morocco; and a Japanese teen whose already-painful adolescence is complicated by her deafness. The Tokyo narrative stands far above the others, even if it is the least connected. With a fierce performance by Rinko Kikuchi as the teen, it could have been a powerful meditation on miscommunication all on its own.
