Most documentaries follow some sort of narrative a storyline by which the film can make its point; but Babies isn’t one of those documentaries. There’s not a single thread of narration it has almost no audible dialogue and the only storyline is the fact that film follows four infants from their first breaths to their first steps. That’s it. But on the other hand do we need anything more? The film is a celebration of the universal joy that babies bring into our lives (a.k.a. an hour of watching cute babies be well…cute). If you’re looking for some grand revelation about life you won’t get it but you will enjoy a few giggles and sudden outbursts of “Oh! Isn’t that cute?”
That being said the movie is far from being just one long YouTube video of “oohs” and “awws.” Filmmaker Thomas Balmès creates a sweeping beautiful portrait of the four babies and their picturesque environments – Ponijao from Namibia Bayar from Mongolia Mari from Tokyo and Hattie from San Francisco (and yes they are all ridiculously adorable). Despite the differences in birthing styles prenatal practices environments languages customs and overall lifestyles in each baby’s home Balmès shows us that at one point we all started from the same place – as little bouncing balls of joy communicating only with our basest nonverbal reactions and a series of endearing cooing sounds.
The most entertaining nugget from the film is the inherent honesty Balmès captures from the four little ones. Babies aren’t afraid to tell you you’re nuts or that they’ve had it with whatever they’re being forced to do; it’s a kind of pure honesty that manners and polite behavior beat out of most adults. This is perhaps best captured in one of the scenes in Mongolia; Bayar’s mother takes him to some sort of ceremony the point of which is not explained. When the men begin to hum and sing Bayar contorts his tiny face with confusion looking at the men with an expression that demands an explanation for this “strange” behavior and practically screams “Screw tradition this is weird.” Similarly back in San Francisco Hattie’s parents take her to a class or community gathering to sing songs about “The Earth Mother.” (How much more San Francisco granola can you get?) Hattie chooses a more direct route – since she’s learned to walk she marches to the classroom door and tries to pry it open with her tiny fingers in a desperate attempt to escape the song circle. While the film also provides a cinematic stunning view of babies from different walks of life it’s the little bits like this that give it a little something extra.
The DVD extras are minimal but like the film they are appropriately short and sweet. If you didn’t get your fill of miniature humans in the film’s hour and twenty minute runtime an extra feature includes the winners of an “Everybody Loves…Your Babies” contest. It’s essentially just a few pictures and homemade videos but they’re still cute. The best feature however is the three-minute vignette that follows Balmès as he visits each of the four babies as four-year-olds. There’s no grand message but isn’t it cool to see what cute kids these little guys have become? (Yes yes it is.)
