French director Thomas Balmes (The Gospel According to the Papuans and Waiting for Jesus) latest documentaries subject matter is very simply just Babies, but is much more than that it as we watch and learn. His film, entitled "Babies", follows four babies from birth to their first steps. Culturally and environmentally each of these babies are from very different parts of the world. Ponijao, from Opuwo, Namibia; Bayarjargal, from Mongolia; Mari from Toyko, Japan; and Hattie from San Fransisco in the United States. The culture and environments of these babies are very diverse, yet as we learn through the film, and through these four babies, that we as humans have more in common then our perceived differences.
In the opening scene we meet Ponijao she is playing with rocks with another baby and it appears as if they are grinding flour together, so different from our western culture. Or is it? They are mimicking their mothers, just as in our western culture our children play in their plastic Little Tykes playhouses, imitating the world around them. Then Balmes introduces us to the four babies by showing us different aspects of the four births; we see Mari's mom writing in red on her newborns feet, Ponijao's mother covers her belly in a red clay paste, Bayarjargal's birth seems to be a water birth in the local hospital and we see Hattie in the hospital after birth being monitored. Four lives brought into the world.
From there Balmes film is really very different in that it is purely observation of these babies lives. There is not a narrator to guide you through the story. The images are the story. We watch the babies sleep, we see them nursing with their mothers, we watch them grow. We see them crawl and explore there are hilarious scenes like the opening scene of Ponijao playing and then fighting with another baby. A scene of Bayar (Bayarjargal) taking a bath when a goat comes along for a drink of water, there are scenes of a moms group taking a trip to the zoo. Each scene speaking differently to whom is watching. I would imagine that the film would be quite different for me to watch, if I was not a mother, with those early years of child raising behind me.You could watch Babies at different points of your own life and take away something very different.
Babies seems to be intentionally designed in a way that exploits this personal connection aspect. One that provides a very personal connection of the audience with the film. While Babies may speak differently to each viewer it also seems to have a universal message. While culturally we are all different and the environments that we are raised in are different there is something universal to being human. While we watch these four babies grow, we see that these four babies share many more commonalities, than difference that divide them.
A great film for Mother's Day weekend really a tribute to a mother's love, and a film that all ages can watch and enjoy.
In the opening scene we meet Ponijao she is playing with rocks with another baby and it appears as if they are grinding flour together, so different from our western culture. Or is it? They are mimicking their mothers, just as in our western culture our children play in their plastic Little Tykes playhouses, imitating the world around them. Then Balmes introduces us to the four babies by showing us different aspects of the four births; we see Mari's mom writing in red on her newborns feet, Ponijao's mother covers her belly in a red clay paste, Bayarjargal's birth seems to be a water birth in the local hospital and we see Hattie in the hospital after birth being monitored. Four lives brought into the world.
From there Balmes film is really very different in that it is purely observation of these babies lives. There is not a narrator to guide you through the story. The images are the story. We watch the babies sleep, we see them nursing with their mothers, we watch them grow. We see them crawl and explore there are hilarious scenes like the opening scene of Ponijao playing and then fighting with another baby. A scene of Bayar (Bayarjargal) taking a bath when a goat comes along for a drink of water, there are scenes of a moms group taking a trip to the zoo. Each scene speaking differently to whom is watching. I would imagine that the film would be quite different for me to watch, if I was not a mother, with those early years of child raising behind me.You could watch Babies at different points of your own life and take away something very different.
Babies seems to be intentionally designed in a way that exploits this personal connection aspect. One that provides a very personal connection of the audience with the film. While Babies may speak differently to each viewer it also seems to have a universal message. While culturally we are all different and the environments that we are raised in are different there is something universal to being human. While we watch these four babies grow, we see that these four babies share many more commonalities, than difference that divide them.
A great film for Mother's Day weekend really a tribute to a mother's love, and a film that all ages can watch and enjoy.
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