Babel will probably win more Oscars than it deserves. Movies that are very strange and not understood by the majority of people often do very well at the Oscars. I will be happy if Will Smith does end up winning an Oscar for Pursuit of Happiness, but I really don't see Forest Whitaker not getting an Oscar for his effort. They both did an excellent job in their roles. I'm hoping that the Departed does very well so that it also indirectly helps boost the sales of Howie Carr's book about the Boston Mafia: The Brothers Bulger! Good luck, and Cha-Ching!
The Departed was a great & intense movie. Will Smith did a great job in Pursuit. Babel is a layered movie... like many others that are hard to sort out with the multiple stories, all interwoven to a degree. Like I said it is a good movie.. not a warm fuzzy movie for sure.