Babel (movie review)

Normally I don't review movies, I find personal tastes vary so much that when I recommend a movie to a friend, they invariably don't like it.
So, you've been warned.
Babel is one of those movies that requires patience, the intro is long and I began to wonder if I hadn't accidentally gone to some European film fest which screens obscure movies that nobody has heard of, in a foreign language, with cryptic dialog, the compulsory ceiling shot, the floor to ceiling shot, the keyhole shot, the insufferable long scenes without music or dialog, the dark room shot, you know what I mean.
It's over two hours long and I wonder if it could have been shortened without any detriment to the plot, which BTW, is absolutely brilliant. I wouldn't be writing a review if I didn't like the movie.
I see about one or two movies per year that knock my socks off. Last year was A History of Violence, but it's too late to write a review of that one.
Babel is an intricate story about how one action by one person causes the "butterfly effect" which affects so many other people in the world.
Every scene is full of tastes and smells as only the best directors are capable of portraying. After the slow and lengthy opening scene, pace picks up and doesn't lag as the interlinked stories and the common denominator becomes self-evident.
There are images that will linger in my mind such as the boys shooting at the bus, the Japanese girl's many misadventures, the Mexican wedding and it's aftermath.
It's not a movie for everybody but for those who like something a bit different, for those who are familiar with European style cinema, it will be a treat well worth watching.