BABIES Review

GRADE: 4 out of 5

BABIES is a very cute and very interesting documentary about the first year of the lives of four babies living in four different parts of the world. No narration here, just a patient undertaking, careful observation of the little situations often overlooked but… mostly and forever cherished by the parents. Ponijao in Namibia, Mari in Tokyo, Bayar in Mongolia and Hattie in San Francisco. Without preaching, BABIES gives you different ways of parenting in different culture, it raises understanding and a new found appreciation, especially for mothers everywhere.

The adventure of a lifetime begins… Directed by award-winning filmmaker Thomas Balmès, from an original idea by producer Alain Chabat, this film simultaneously follows four babies around the world – from birth to first steps. The children are, respectively, in order of on-screen introduction: Ponijao, who lives with her family near Opuwo, Namibia; Bayarjargal, who resides with his family in Mongolia, near Bayanchandmani; Mari, who lives with her family in Tokyo, Japan; and Hattie, who resides with her family in the United States, in San Francisco. Re-defining the nonfiction art form, “Babies” joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all.

Granted there are times in this movie where you start to question where is filmmaker Thomas Balmes going with all this, or why on earth do we need to watch this scene or that particular scene, which is why watching BABIES takes the patience it took to film this as well, capturing those candid moments that only Babies, often without realizing it, would do to express either joy, sadness, yearning, frustration, and fear.

There are several stages that each of the babies go through in this film and and each of them do it in their own way in relation to the environment around them.

But like I said earlier, pay attention to the unique parenting styles. What the mom in Namibia would do to clean her baby’s poop, what the mom in San Francisco would do for her baby to get her to speak her first word, how the mom in Mongolia cleans her baby, by taking in some of the water herself and spitting it on her baby’s body. The way the mom in Tokyo would breastfeed her baby. Some of these methods might seem crude and shocking to some of you who all this time only had one perception on how babies are supposed to be handled or taken care of, so the documentary BABIES shows you that there are more than one way and it’s not about right or wrong, it’s about how it’s done in that part of the world, the norms acceptable and the culture in that part of the world. In the end, you’ll be least likely to judge, and instead.. you’ll be more open minded and have more respect for moms everywhere.

Filmmaker Balmes doesn’t ignore the Babies’ need to have some kind of connection other than just with their direct parents or siblings. It shows you the community gathering, blessing the baby, or the baby’s various and unique interaction with animals. At times, you’d feel like it’s irresponsible to leave a baby with such company, thinking it might not be dangerous or healthy for his/her condition but what you get instead is the baby’s first learning experience, their figuring out for themselves what it is they’re petting. Their curiosity will keep you hooked til the end. And I’m glad this is not a documentary with talking heads and lots of statistics or illustrations. It’s just a simple, patient and ambitious, surprisingly informative project chronicling one of the miracles of life.

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