On one level, "Babies," the new documentary from French filmmaker Thomas Balmès, is just what it appears to be: a look at the lives of four babies from diverse backgrounds. On another level, it is about much more than its title implies, a carefully crafted exercise using child-rearing as a lens to examine cultural differences. How the audience perceives those differences will undoubtedly depend on whether they are parents themselves and to what parenting philosophies they subscribe.
The film, which is not narrated, follows the first year or so in the lives of Ponijao (Opuwo, Namibia), Bayar (Bayanchandmani, Mongolia), Mari (Tokyo) and Hattie (San Francisco). Balmès is less concerned with systematically documenting their development — several weeks of newborn footage probably wasn't too action-packed — jumping from birth to more active infants almost immediately.
The babies do pretty much what you'd expect, eating, crying, going to the bathroom and crawling around; they play with cats and dogs, and sometimes goats.
While the babies are clearly the stars, providing enough adorable moments to keep the film moving along, the cinematography, including long shots of Bayar stumbling around against the endless Mongolian landscape, is often captivating.
At several points, however, it seems as if we're not getting the whole picture, especially when the film juxtaposes scenes to contrast different babies. In one such instance, shots of two of the babies — Mongolian Bayar and Japanese Mari — are woven together.
Bayar, who sits on the floor, tethered to a nearby bedpost, experiences bliss as he unrolls a spool of paper, while Mari throws a tantrum as she sits among a pile of toys. Ponijao, too, is repeatedly depicted finding pleasure from found objects like plastic bottles or rocks. On the surface, the edit seems innocent enough, but coupled with scenes of Mari being pushed around with an army of other babies in high-end baby strollers and wearing a variety of baby fashion, it is hard not to conclude the filmmaker disapproved of her parents' materialism.
The issue of how much or little attention to pay to a baby is given similar treatment. While the language barrier makes it difficult to fully understand everything that is happening, the film gives the impression that too much doting, like fancy toys, does not make babies happy. While Ponijao is often shown spending time with his mother, the interactions are for the most part very casual, scenes of mother and child hanging out together.
American Hattie, on the other hand, often seems trapped by her parents.
In one scene, she cries uncomfortably as her mother holds her in a hot tub (hopefully not too hot). At another point, in one of film's funniest moments, Hattie and her father take part in a parent-child group sing-along. As the group of parents makes their way through what seem to be an American Indian-style song about loving Mother Earth, Hattie pops up from her father's lap and runs for the door, pulling on the handle repeatedly only to find that it is locked.
That is not to say there aren't shots of Hattie enjoying herself. There are. But the contrast the scene draws between the American family and the rest of the babies is stark, and is one of many that drive the film.
'Babies'
Our grade: B
Genre: Documentary
Running Time: 79 min
MPAA rating: PG
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