 "In Gen. 11:9, the name of Babel is etymologized by association with the Hebrew verb balal,  to confuse or confound " (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/babel)..."Babel", through a series of misunderstandings, interweaves the unfortunate circumstances of a Moroccan, an American, a Mexican and a Japanese family. A Moroccan family acquires a rifle to protect their goats. An American woman, on a bus tour with her husband, is accidentally shot, which is in turn grossly exaggerated by the press who are quick to label the incident as a "terrorist attack". The same couple s children accompany their long-time caretaker to Mexico to attend her son s wedding, where upon re-entering the United States face problems. A Japanese widower confronts difficulties in communicating with his deaf teenage daughter whom simply craves human contact.