Babies Movie Review

What a brilliant movie to release on Mother's Day-- a film dedicated to glorifying the cuteness of babies. There are few things in this world as cute as a baby, and this film gives us four different ones to observe. The documentary is made by the French director Thomas Balmes and is a perfect choice for mother's day. Go to see Babies if it if you're spending a day with your mother or a prospective mother wanting to see what it's really like.

The Babies

There are three babies in the film that we get to observe for over an hour with no narration to clutter things up. The different landscapes and parenting styles of the parents make the story interesting enough that the time flies, however. Each of the parents are loving and caring, so this is a story of love. The children are of different socioeconomic brackets, but the documentary isn't about judging which style of parenting is best, though American viewers will probably feel a tinge of disapproval as you watch a baby sit bare bottomed on sand with a goat nearby.

Ponijao, the first baby is from Nambia, Africa. Mari, the second, is from Tokyo, Japan. Hattie is from San Francisco, USA and Bayarjargal is from Mongolia. Balmes shot much of the film himself and he takes great advantage of the landscape to create some beautiful shots. Half of the documentary is a mix of the little moments of everyday life that, for the babies from Nambia, Tokyo, and Mongolia, is an interesting look into a different culture. For the rest of the film, all the big steps of babydom are included: walking, talking, and general cuteness is all documented for the world to go "awww" at.

Conclusion

As far as deep plot, Babies doesn't have it. It is 79 minutes of baby noises, urination, and cool landscapes. If that sounds like it is enough for you, then definitely consider seeing Babies. This is the most recent in a long line of fantastically shot documentaries from French directors and it doesn't disappoint. Mothers and women of all ages will probably get a lot out of Babies and it doesn't make you any less of a man to go with them and enjoy the baby cooing. The film has some funny bits as well which are somehow funnier in the way that there is no narration to make things corny. The theater will just naturally laugh when a baby beings peeing suddenly or when a goat suddenly crosses in the background. Critics give it a 6/10 for cute babies but not much more.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babies_%28film%29