Miss the sounds of a baby’s ear-shattering cries? Or think the sight of a toddler swatting his brother is the ultimate entertainment?
Then step right up and rent “Babies,” the new documentary following four wee ones growing up in disparate parts of the globe. The film, out Sept. 28 on DVD and Blu-ray, is simply gorgeous in the latter format, a series of lush compositions accented by some of the cutest lil’ mugs you’ll ever see.
Beneath that satin exterior lies precious little insight. “Babies” is a skin deep look at child rearing and the components which unite us no matter what country we call home.
“Babies” follows four newborns in four distinct cultures. Hattie hails from San Francisco, and her parents epitomize upper middle class parenting. Ponijao’s parents – we mainly see the baby’s mama – exist with only the bare essentials. Bayarjargal’s Mongolian upbringing means spending plenty of time cavorting with herd animals. Mari gets to play with plenty of toys provided to her by her Japanese parents.
The narration-free film feels in no hurry to reveal the arc of early human maturation. and for a while we marvel at the unique way each child evolves.
Director Thomas Balmès gets intimate access to the families, enabling him to catch images other directors could only dream of staging. Balmes also arranges his camera in unconventional ways, turning something as ordinary as a child crawling around a hut into something that feels darn near revelatory.
No camera tricks are necessary when Ponijao’s mother disposes of baby excrement via a corncob, or when Hattie’s parents sing the praises of Mother Earth in a sequence that leaves them ripe for Yuppie-fied ridicule.
The director’s penchant for intimate moments, like a brief sequence featuring Hattie and mother in the shower, may have come at a cost.
We never get enough of the families in question – how they operate, the values they bring to child rearing or other fundamental parts of parenthood. Without it, and lacking distinct ways to contrast the upbringings of the toddlers, we’re left with the most beautiful home movies you’ll ever see. And despite the attention to detail accompanying every scene, it becomes a chore to watch these babies in action.
The early lessons – like how living without hand sanitizer and other western essentials doesn’t hurt young Ponijao one bit – fade as we watch the babies enter their second year of life.
The Blu-ray presentation is first rate, but the extras in the package disappoint. The only feature of note reunites us with the four babies, all around the age of four now. The scenes offer sweet moments of Balmes marveling at the changes in his young stars. But it’s but a brief reunite culminating in the parents applauding the finished film.
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