Babel (1999): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1999, Babel is a fantasy, adventure, family and science fiction film directed by Gérard Pullicino, running about 95 minutes. “Since the beginning of time, the Babels have watched over the Earth. Now they need human help to save the world.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. An elaborate fantasy tale intended for family audiences, Babel tells the story of the Babels, a strange breed of four-foot-tall creatures who once coexisted happily with human beings on planet Earth. However, when the humans built a huge tower to taunt God, he became angry and drove the Babels underground, while scattering the humans to the corners of the Earth and giving them different languages to keep them separate. Thousands of years later, three Babels are searching underground for the Babel Stone presented to them by God when they lose the map -- which is soon snapped up by a dog, who presents it to his master, an advertising man named Patrick. The Babels are desperate to recover the map, and they recruit Patrick's son David to help them find it (and the Babel Stone) before the evil Nemrod can steal the stone and claim its powers.

Who’s in it. Babel stars Mitchell David Rothpan as David Carat, Maria de Medeiros as Alice, Tchéky Karyo as Nemrod and Michel Jonasz as Patrick Carat, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.5/10, Babel has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Babel page.

If you liked it. Fans of Babel tend to enjoy The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Green Mile, Spirited Away and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.