Babies Bluray

Posted In: Babies

Penni Smyser says...

A short time ago, my wife and I were joined by a new baby and our remarkable little boy is now at 19 months. The baby was a first for both of us and neither of us had almost any prior experience with an infant. Everything that unfolded was new and a very interesting experience. When my wife spotted the new "Babies" movie, we just had to see it. We both enjoyed it very much and will be buying the DVD when it becomes available.



The movie is a very unusual documentary of four babies in four different parts of the world (San Francisco, Tokyo, Mongolia and Namibia) and four different cultures. There is no story. There are no spoken words, only background sounds. The movie goes from scene to scene, back and forth, back and forth from baby to baby and location to location. We watched with fascination as each baby learned to adapt and cope with it's new life as it unfolded in it's particular environment. Very interesting to watch. We cringed at some of the baby experiences and laughed at others. Of course, we had our own living example for comparison and it has promoted a wealth of conversation.



If you have a newborn/toddler, be sure to see this movie. You'll enjoy it immensely. Actually,babies are so interesting and humorous that almost anyone could enjoy the film. It's a very unusual movie to view. The photography in the various settings is excellent. The sound is good. Relax and enjoy.



Gary Peterson

Posted on September 4, 2010

Abbey Klase says...

This review is for; Babies



As proud parent of my 16-month old son, my wife & I enjoyed watching "Babies". The DVD has no narration. Just rotating clips of four newborns from four different cultures taken from the time of their birth to their first steps. The babies come from a barren desert in Nambia, Africa, an open-field farm in Mongola, a crowded part of town in Tokyo and San Francisco. Honestly my wife & I found the clips from Africa & Mongola to be more interesting because of the extremely, different living conditions than you might not expect from any Western living conditions. Funny clip about the goat trying to drink the baby's bathing water from the window. When you live in such open environments such as a dessert or an open field farm it was interesitng to see the babies just roam as far as they could with minimal, adult supervision. There wasn't anything special about viewing the Tokyo & San Francisco clips that looked very ordinary to me although the scene of the San Francisco baby opening and eating a bananna was very funny to watch!



I thought it would be more interesting if the film makers could have included a Middle Eastern or Indian culture or a Hispanic culture to add more variety besides or in addition to the cultures already represented. It would also been interesting to include a culture that raises a baby in a extreme, cold weather climate such as Alaska, Canada or somewhere in Europe. As for extra's on the DVD there is a short clip of all four babies revisited three years later after they were filmed.



Overall "Babies" is an enjoyable DVD to watch if you appreciate the innocence and beauty of young babies looking at the world for the first time!

Posted on September 5, 2010

Lizzie Saini says...

I watched this movie with my husband, toddler and baby and we all loved it. It has plenty of "maternal nudity",

which consists of breasts (when the babies feed) and pregnant bellies. No vaginal or birth scenes here. I got a

lot more out of it than most other people did because I am interested in natural birth, cloth diapering and

organic living in general. I just wish they showed more about how the primitive mothers took care of their babies

when they were sick or injured, baby food preparation, more about how they diaper or potty train- things like that.

It made me realize how absorbed we "civilized" folks are in all of our gadgets from the moment we are born.

The two developed nation babies quickly had learning toys surrounding them, while the primitive babies played

outdoors with what nature provided. The primitive moms did not worry about their babies crawling naked outdoors

in the dirt, crawling in and drinking from a moving stream, crawling under livestock or on rusty barrels. When I

let my son crawl outdoors he tries to eat every stone he sees, so I don't know how they keep them from choking

on stuff! Meanwhile we developed nation mommas are concerned about each milestone, counting how many words the

child is learning and whether they will be ready for grade school, so why do we complicate things? We tend to go

for the man-made answer to everything. As a mom I felt this movie taught me not to worry so much about the small

things (like back when my son ate a bug & I nearly passed out) and I was reminded that babies are all the same no

matter where they are born, they just adapt differently to the environment they were brought into & this movie lets

us watch that happen.

Posted on September 6, 2010

Debora Gadapee says...

"Here Come The Babies". A simple concept and an even more simplistic marketing tool for a movie. There is something undeniably watch able about this new French documentary following four newborns from different parts of the world during the first year of their lives.



Generally, whenever anything connected to Anne Geddes is within five feet I start to get a little queasy. I was afraid "Babies" would be like watching an extended commercial for Anne Geddes' new project. The film is cute and fun and amusing, but, thankfully, the saccharin levels are kept in check. How this is done is not entirely clear to me. It almost seems like a miracle.



We watch as four new babies enter the world. First, cameras actually capture Bayar's birth in a surprisingly up to date Mongolian hospital. Ponijau, the Namibian baby, is born in the most primitive conditions, her mother spreading red dye over her belly before birth and over the newborn when she enters the world. We also catch up with Mari, born in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and Hattie, born in the most medically sophisticated surroundings in a hospital in San Francisco. As the camera focuses on the babies, we watch the very different parents care for their newborns, imparting the traditions and conditions of their respective societies on the new children.



"Babies" doesn't have a narrative; it simply follows the children through various parts of their first years. We watch Ponijaur fighting with another child as they play in the red dirt, pounding plastic bottles with rocks. We watch as Mari attends a Mommy and Me group with her mother, trying to figure out what the overly eager instructor is doing or meant to be. We watch as Hattie attends some strange sort of bonding class with her father, the adults chanting as the babies stare around mystified. We watch as Bayar sits in a metal tub of bath water and a goat walks up behind him and starts to drink from the same water. All of these images are unexplainably mesmerizing and interesting.



While there isn't a narrative, it does seem as though there is a thematic assembly. For instance, scenes of the babies learning to crawl are woven together, scenes of the babies learning with their parents are woven together, and scenes of the babies interacting with cats are woven together. While there isn't an over-structured feel to the film, grouping these shots together helps to provide an interesting look at how different these cultures are. And, in many ways, they are also very similar.



Throughout the film, there are probably twice as many shots of the babies sitting alone, reacting to things, than there needs to be. These moments seem to be included to elicit laughter and feelings of endearment and veer dangerously close to the cloying Geddes-like feel I was dreading. Thankfully, just as these moments threaten to take over, the camera shifts to a new baby, a new theme or a new setting and the feeling is broken.



I really wasn't expecting to enjoy the film as much as I did. Perhaps the babies wove a magic spell over us and I am overlooking some obvious flaw. But the film has a couple of things going in its favor. First, the film runs 79 minutes. It is difficult to become bored in such a short period of time. Second, I was engaged by the glimpses of the various cultures and how different the families are.



"Babies" won't be everyone's cup of tea. A lack of viewpoint and narrative will probably drive many people batty. And not everyone will find the constant barrage of cute images palatable. But I went into the film fearing these things would make it an unpleasant experience for me to watch "Babies", as painful for me as giving birth. But "Babies" won me over and is a fun, enjoyable way to enjoy some time with a loved one.



Just don't take your wife or girlfriend if you aren't ready to have "that" discussion.

Posted on September 7, 2010

Scarlett Heilman says...

I am probably not the best person to review Thomas Balmes' 2010 documentary following the lives of four babies during their first year. The film is only 79 minutes, but it feels awfully long to this childless reviewer especially since it carries the randomness of a string of related YouTube videos. However, I am not a complete curmudgeon since there are several moments of delight to be found in Balmes' extended-shot approach which rarely goes above the eye-line of an infant. The director goes to four distinct places to highlight cultural dissimilarities and the universality of babies' experiences in responding to the world around them - pastoral Mongolia, heavily urban Tokyo, the Namibian desert, and kid-friendly San Francisco. There is no voiceover narration, just the gurgling noises, crying jags and first words from the babies in a fashion closer to a wildlife documentary.



As for the babies who could technically be up for leading-category Oscars, there is Mari of Tokyo, who appears to show both a contemplative curiosity about the family cat and an artist's temperament in her epic fit when she falls to the floor and pounds her legs on the playroom floor. Hattie of San Francisco takes to her jumpy chair and her playground race car like Evel Kneival and actually has the film's funniest scene when she tries to escape her parents as they perform an unbearably pretentious Native American earth chant. Bayarjargal of Mongolia displays the most perseverance as he confronts the mayhem caused by a bullying older brother, thirsty goat, and an aggressive rooster. However, it's Ponijao of Namibia who steals the movie as the model of stoicism as she replicates her mother's domestic actions with just pebbles, dirt and the occasional piece of food. In fact, you might be amazed like me at how self-sufficient all these adorable babies are.

Posted on September 8, 2010

Kara Schoenhals says...

I watched this documentary recently in whilst on holidays in Europe. There was no spoken commentary and that was a bonus for a film like this.



If you are interested in human development - here it all is before you in the first year of life of four healthy babies growing up in caring environments. All the milestones from a Child health and development point of view and interesting observations of baby caregiver interactions are here to see in 4 different cultural environments.



This documentary also brings home the vast differences in the two more western environments -US and Japan, and the contrast of the Mongolian environment and the baby growing up in a very different environment in Namibia.



What we can learn from this documentary is that normal healthy human babies growing up in loving families and stable environments develop physically and emotionally in much the same ways despite all the things that we tend to think are essential in our western culture.



We see a vast contrast in the cultural environment in which the Namibian baby lives, for example, and our western culture where we tend to feel we need to have a vast array of purchased toys for each stage of development, lots of fashionable clothing, and often we are so isolated we really do need to attend mothers groups for contact with other mothers and to and learn from each other, and then there are baby gym classes to attend.



We can see from the other environments how all this tends to happen quite naturally in the Namibian group and in the Mongolian family it is different again due to the family's need to survive in their environment.



As a bonus, there are also the beautiful scenic backdrops of the locations.



Whilst this documentary is delightful to watch for anyone who adores babies, the important message here could be that healthy babies who are born into caring families who interact with them and give provide opportunities for learning end up developing normally in much the same ways, in these vastly different cultural environments.

Posted on September 8, 2010

Deeanna Mulvaney says...

This is not only a very interesting movie, it is entertaining, cute, funny and very enjoyable! As a Mother it is very interesting to see the different ways children are cared for by Mother's of other cultures and the similarities we all have across cultures:) My daughter will be 3 at the end of September and we rented it from On Demand through FIOS and she absolutely ADORES it! We ran up the bill a bit re-renting it for her and I finally had to tell her (after 3 times) that that was enough for now. She asks for this movie EVERY DAY! I am preordering it! It just so happens her birthday is September 29th, the day after it's released so I'll include it in her presents (she already has a lovely bunch I've ordered...Yes, I tend to do things early:) My daughter will watch this movie over and over as many children do when they have a new movie they love and of all the movies that she has done that with, this movie I don't mind watching twice in a row. There's not a lot of dialog except for what is said by the parents to their children in their language (one of the babies is from the USA). It's filmed as if they have no knowledge of the camereas being there and they are just going about their daily routine naturally which is part of the appeal of this movie. I give it an A+! It was very well done! Plus, those babies are pretty funny at times:) My daughter said that she would like you to know that she "LOVES Babies!!!!" :) She insisted I add that into the review:) Enjoy!

Posted on September 9, 2010

Alena Yokely says...

This movie was fascinating! I loved seeing how similar the babies were, even in such different cultural settings. I also loved the format of comparing all four babies as they grew. I found myself curious about the sheer logistics of filming these babies for so long and putting it all together.Just a delightful, enjoyable film!

Posted on September 10, 2010

Rolando Sabal says...

The concept is deceptively simple: follow four babies from four different countries from birth til they take their first steps ~ 1 year old.As others have noted, there is no (spoken) narrative. Rather, the camera documents the four babies in the same situations : being born, first smile, at play, sleeping, etc.I watched this movie with my daughters and we all absolutely loved it (I was glad that they did not actually show the birth process).We all had our favorite babies - my daughters loved "Hattie" from San Francisco but I fell in love with the baby from Mongolia as he was so adorably mischievous.This multi-cultural perspective on babies is utterly fascinating.You will find yourself asking such questions as "Which baby seems the happiest?" (asked by my 9 year-old daughter); "What do babies REALLY need to thrive?" - toys, shelves FULL of books, or just a loving mom and a roll of toilet paper?There is a particular scene where Hattie bites her mom and instead of reprimanding her (like the Mongolian mother did when the baby was naughty), she pulls out a book entitled ~"No Biting".It's also interesting as an American parent, to see how "sterile" our babies are compared to the babies that grow up in countries like Mongolia and Namibia.Most importantly,as a parent, it makes you appreciate the "magic" of raising a child.A must see for all parents, and lovers of children, including children themselves.It is also a very entertaining movie.My girls laughed out loud and had me rewind it (rented and recorded it on Cable) in several places.Be forewarned: it may increase your urge to have a baby-I luckily slapped sense back to myself.

Posted on September 10, 2010

Deadra Amos says...

BABIES is a feel good movie that arguably has absolutely no point, or is very profound.It is a documentary that essentially films the first year or so in the lives of 4 babies from vastly different parts of the globe.We simply observe them eating, evacuating, smiling, discovering their toes, learning to crawl, learning to play, and so on.Certainly babies are cute, and it's easy to get an adult audience to smile with and laugh at these silly little creatures.



That could be the point of BABIES..."look, how cute."And frankly, it's pretty satisfying on that level alone.But it could also be showing us, and the most basic levels, how we're all so VERY similar, at least when we start out.That all of us, whether from Namibia, Mongolia, Tokyo or San Francisco...we all have so very much in common.That's a simple, almost clich

Posted on September 16, 2010