Like a nice case of Montezuma’s revenge, Babel is striking back. Not content with an Oscar nomination for Best Motion Picture ("It’s great to be nominated!”, remember?), the film has been wreaking havoc on the intestinal fortitude of Japanese audiences since its April 28 release.
Apparently, 15 people have complained about feeling sick as watching Babel in Japan is giving some filmgoers a case of the Technicolor yawn. The complaints stem from the scene where Rinko Kikuchi (Chieko) heads into a flashing, strobe-gilled club all giddy about a new found crush, only to have the crush mack on her friend.
Quick to tackle the problem, Japanese distributor GAGA Communications posted a warning on their website and on theater posters reading, "This feature presentation includes some highly stimulating effects and some customers have complained of feeling ill."
And all along I thought the long haired marmot Chieko was smuggling under her skirt would have been the sure fire ill-maker.